Comments on: Death of the Regional Newspaper Bureau in Washington

By: FlownOver

FlownOver — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:59:02 +0000

fourlegs –

Seriously, the Palin degree is the singular symbol of the trend of current American journalism. Facts bad, entertainment good – because facts bore and glitz sells. Public interest in scandals

There are many dedicated, intelligent professionals like our KT, but I'm convinced the trend is away from reporting and toward infotainment – even (or particularly) in the purportedly serious media. The crap tends to push out the excellent, to the end that we get journalism fit only for the idiocracy. There will always be the talented, committed investigative reporter, but that role is increasingly seen as taking space/airtime away from the more profitable Britney Update.

By: pourmecoffee

pourmecoffee — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:46:37 +0000

Newspaper Bailouts?: Seven legislators from the area served by The Bristol Press and The Herald in New Britain today wrote to the state Department of Economic and Community Development to ask for its help in preventing the closure of the newspapers. -- (Link)

By: jayackroyd

jayackroyd — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:48:09 +0000

Is Politico making money?
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Politico is said to be making money on its print edition. Short run, distributed in DC.

By: ivb3016

ivb3016 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:59:14 +0000

And, as a newspaper subsciber who is so compulsive that while I am away my papers are being held and I will read through them when I get back, I am really dismayed by their decline.
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They cut out the suburban coverage - there went local news apart from the city. Then they cut back of columnists and brought in more canned opinion. Now it is death by a thousand cuts. Each week seems to bring an announcement of some little thing gone. For example, a couple of weeks ago they said they would no longer have any tv listings in the daily paper except prime time, cutting morning, afternoon, and late night because they were in the Sunday section. However, a long time ago they cut the late night from the Sunday section and it was only in the daily paper. Endless stuff like this and finally there isn't any reason to buy the paper.

By: ivb3016

ivb3016 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:41:54 +0000

As to the classifieds, when I worked for a university library, we always used to place an ad for a position in our local daily as well as in professional journals. We have a local graduate library school and thought it a good idea that might attract some people who might not be looking for a job at the moment. People tended to check the ads even if they weren't in the market.
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However, the Phila Inq kept raising classified rates until it was just not feasible for us to keep on advertising. It is part of the mind set of pricing to the highest possible profit while ignoring what the customer considers reasonable cost. I'm sure the same model applied to all the other classifieds which helped Craig's List to take hold.

By: davemc321

davemc321 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:08:12 +0000

I worked 20+ years for a Dallas newspaper with a strong regional reputation. Ten years ago, we had bureaus in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, DC and Mexico City. We were given time - 10 months and more - to examine/investigate topics that gave reader value that extended far beyond our circulation area. Today, there is a partial bureau in DC, a shortened staff in Austin and one person in Mexico City. The rest are gone.

When I left with buyout 2 months ago, 23 people left with me. A month later, more than two dozen were laid off involuntarily. There had been two other RIFs in the same number of years. The luxury of letting people spend time to understand the complexities of a story and then put them into context for the reader was gone. Time is money and when you're not filling spaces in the newsprint you're costing the corporation money.

That simply became reality. But here is the point, exactly at the time when newspapers should have marked themselves different from the web AND from TV by longer, sharply written explanatory pieces that, in the old adage, comforted the afflicted and afficted the comfortable, they flinched, cut staff and added more crap to the web.

Sorry to bring the personal here, but there was a time when local and regional newspapers meant something, provided something valuable and necessary to the public. I'm not sure what they do anymore.

By: sgwhiteinfla

sgwhiteinfla — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:19:09 +0000

wvng
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yes I did

By: wvng

wvng — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:17:15 +0000

Oh, and sgw, no you didn't.

By: wvng

wvng — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:15:56 +0000

sgw, totally awesome, but the people in that little Zodiac were incredibly lucky. As was the penguin.

By: sgwhiteinfla

sgwhiteinfla — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:14:10 +0000

wvng
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I just saw that video and its AWESOME. I showed it to my kids and they loved it!