More on the death of newspapers
As a part two to a post I wrote a while back, I'll point out this Leonard Pitts column.
From the column:
But the unkindest cut of all, the "Et tu, Brute?" dagger in the back, is the fact that, according to a new survey from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, most other Americans won't, either. Pew found 63% of respondents saying that if their local paper went down, they would miss it very little or not at all.
Then, he goes on to say he thinks that 63 percent of Americans are going to be shocked one day when they wake up and the paper they knew is gone.
My mother, upon hearing about all the layoffs of the Bee, and generally worrying about my lively hood, wondered how far it could go. In what I thought was a pretty profound moment, she says, "There has to be a Fresno Bee, right?"
I don't know. Ask the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Or the San Francisco Chronicle.
I don't think the newspaper will go away altogether. It will change. Out business model is broken, obviously. Maybe we'll only see Saturday/Sunday editions. My general thought has always been that we'd start seeing more localized content, as local newspapers come to grips with the fact they can't compete in global/national news.
But, that becomes null and void if those news organizations fail, I guess. And yes, I realize there are other news media available (TV, radio) I just think the written word can do a better job of it.
So my question to you is: Would you care if there was no daily paper in Fresno? And in that news void (and it would create a void) what would you like to see in its place?
good stuff for dialog
famous,
interesting piece to add to the discussion. but i'm not too surprised that a writer for the chronicle thinks the established newspaper journalist is the most credible. and, he says it all with hubris that may not be so well deserved in a time where papers are closing and even his paper has had to make major changes to stay afloat. let's look @ two paragraphs from near the end of the piece,
"Look, I'm all for media upheaval and revolution. I'm all for seeing what will emerge from the ashes of print, should it die out completely. But there's a reason the traditional newsroom model has lasted 150 years, that professional journalism is still considered so vital to a healthy democracy, that it's still a profession requiring years of training and education, and not just a casual hobby you engage in when you're a little drunk and you've read a few McLuhan books and you don't get enough sex so hey, might as well mosey over to that Planning Commission meeting and scribble some notes.
There's also a reason that saying "I read it on XYZ blog, so it must be true" still carries little weight in a serious discussion, whereas, "I read it in the Washington Post," gives you instant authority. Instant cred. Even today. Especially today. Has that authority unraveled and weakened in the wake of the Net and news-as-entertainment? Absolutely. Do we have anything better? Not yet. Not by a long shot."
i like that he basically says that democracy needs professional, trained journalists. of course, we're to assume that those must be print journalists. and, that they write for newspapers. so, you writers of time, newsweek, the new yorker, vanity fair, forget what you're doing. and, you reporters from all the television news outlets, forget it, you haven't been around 150 years so you're not reliable.
i especially love it that the paragraph concludes with a not too subtle attack on citizen journalists. apparently, i'm less than capable to accurately report what is going on in my community or the world because i didn't go to school for it, and i'm also undersexed. way to go all playground with that last dig. and, it's nice that all of us seem to be lumped together. the blogger that posts whatever his opinions on life is seen exactly the same as the blogger that actively engages in journalism. just like the weekly world news is exactly the same as the new york times. i mean, they're both newspapers, right?
it's true, citizen journalists haven't got the cultural cache as established media. and, they aren't afforded the level of believability as the established journalist yet. but it's not like newspapers have always been thought of as bastions of truth. i mean, we have the term yellow journalism because the "legitimate" or established protector of democracy and everything good hasn't always been everything it claimed.
i'm not one that thinks newspapers should stop existing. i also don't think it's newspapers vs bloggers. i think newspapers need to figure out how to capitalize on the web, what may be a better business model, and how to keep being a reliable source of information. i also think that bloggers et al need to work harder at being accurate sources of information, if that's what they want to be. those that want to be "news" should make sure they fact check and provide reliable content.
finally, it's not like the newspapers haven't noticed the need for change and that new media can produce result worth investing in. some citizen journalist websites have gotten enough credibility and readership that they get bought out by the established media outlets.
Die newspapers, die?
This column from the SF. Gate's Mark Morford sums up a lot of what I've been thinking about lately.
If the bee considered being unbias or tilted to the right they
really?
the right says its too leftist
the left says its too wing-nut
dang, can't those Bee's get it right?
& here I thought the Bee's only problem was that they focus too much on the non-essentials (gossip, Hollywood), syndicated columnists (I don't care what Cal Thomas or Leonard Pitts says (if I did, I'd buy the NYTimes), I want to know what Valley Boys & Girls say (Hansen & Navarette are ok, they're Valley boys) & fads (remember the "dot.com" section?)
.
.
......................
welcome to the future
If the bee considered being
If the bee considered being unbias or tilted to the right they would be rich.
other Fresno news papers of the past
there have been a few other Fresno daily news papers that are no longer here but they died decades ago.
things come and they go
Sad times
I'd miss the paper being in print, even though I no longer read the printed paper.
Why? Because there was quite a bit of gamesmanship required to keep a decent subscription rate with the Bee, and the scuzz-sucking barrel-bottomers they had delivering the thing I didnt particularly want in my porch-ly area.
I read the Bee online now, though I wouldn't pay to.
I would hate to see the
I would hate to see the printed version of the paper end.
I do enjoy waking up every morning, grabbing a cup of coffee, plopping down on the couch and reading my morning newspaper.
I will honestly say if things continue in the path they are now, I will not renew my paper subscription. The paper has been smaller, with less and less local news.
The Sunday coupons have been hit and miss. One week I have them, the next I don't. Not sure if that is a carrier problem or if coupons are becoming less and less as well.
Scary!
I read this article a year ago and found it to be quite troubling then and now.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010038
I for one would be saddened by the loss of the daily newspaper. Granted, I do browse the internet daily for my fair dose of local entertainment and national gossip (*gasp*) but for local news that directly affects Fresno, I stick to the printed edition.
I think The Fresno Bee does a great job in the print edition. I hope that the residents of Fresno will consider the decline of readership to be catastrophic to the local economy. And the fact that the cost of a subscription to The Fresno Bee hasn't risen in this economy is pretty telling.
The fact is, everyone and everything is effected in this economy. But print journalism has been hit much harder with the advent of electronic media. It's definately going to take some quick thinking and ingenuity on the part of The Fresno Bee print staff to keep a leg up on their electronic counterparts/competition.
my opinion
as one who rarely reads the printed version, i wouldn't care if it disappeared. i would care if the largest news source in fresno disappeared.
there's a pretty interesting podcast done on this issue done by bill simmons of espn featuring chuck klosterman. you can find the podcast here and click on the episode from 3/13. sorry i can't find a direct link.
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