OT/The local newspaper is headed toward RIP status

[buddybikes]

There is digital content from your local paper, which is still journalism and physical paper, which is of course also local. We subscribe to the Boston Globe one of a few monthly subscriptions we pay for. Also have a local paper for our town, which (hopefully) is doing ok.

Importance to local journalism is massive. Take for example the exposure of the Catholic Church scandal which was uncovered/researched by the BG.

Locally Gannett owns the Providence Journal, formerly a paper of record with multiple journalism awards, now I don't even go to their website. Not sure of their long term intensions of self destruction.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Originally Posted by Turkle

I have worked on the advertising side of the publishing business for many years, and it's beyond depressing how private equity scumbags keep buying up these local papers and strip-mining them for short-term profit, rendering them unfit for long-term survival, in direct contradistinction to the needs of the community.

I will tell you from personal experience that the "finance" people in charge of these publications are the absolute stupidest, most utterly incurious, and totally irresponsible losers capitalism has ever vomited up.

The same thing is happening in health care as well.

Our local paper , at the end of this month, will go to 3 times per week delivery by mail, incidentally relying on a local USPS that has struggled mightily over the past couple of years. At one point, I went 3 weeks without any mail delivery.

I love reading the morning paper but have debated cancelling the local as the “local” news includes filler from other small towns 30-80 miles away. Interestingly, I feel like I get a better sense for what’s going on about town from the weekly free paper.

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Most newspapers of all sizes dug their own graves. Far too few intrepid reporters.

Yes. I know. We laid off too many of them. But not because we wanted to.

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

This has been going on for a long time, sadly.

Back in the nascent days of the Internet, Craigslist was the culprit sucking advertising from local Bay Area papers such as the Bay Area Guardian and the SF Weekly.

Back in those nascent days of Craigslist and Monster, we had a department head meeting to discuss strategies on how to combat them. I proposed that we should immediately give away all our classified advertising, for free, because we were going to lose it anyway. Then we should sell banner ads on each page of the classifieds, because advertisers would want to be where lots of eyeballs were. There was silence as everyone else looked at me like I had two heads. The advertising manager moved on, not even acknowledging what I'd said.

Not that my idea would have saved newspapers, but the point is that many of those in power refused to recognize the enemy, which wasn't Craiglist or Monster -- it was their own dependence on and conceit about continued profit margins.

[5oakterrace]

I write a daily column - The Mindful Minute - for the local paper. Maybe 250 words. I do not get paid. It is my drop in the bucket for the inner life of the community. I believe the paper was virtually kaput - one or two reporters? until a new resident with deep pockets bought it and other papers in the region (south west Vermont). Some question his intent which leaves me baffled as I do not see how he makes any money. This paper covers all the local news. And there are non-profit weeklies (free) which compete. The town has 12k residents, but covers the sparsely populated region. Digital subscriptions are $200. My paper has at least 3-4 main employees - editor and reporters. I do not know how you pay these folks, cover your costs and survive in such a sparsely populated area. The digital version does not seem to have all that many ads. I wonder whether he does not underwrite the whole enterprise at some level.

[AngryScientist]

I dont have much to add to the discussion, and I havent gotten a paper in years, but I always did think it was awesome to think about the mechanism that spun in order to get up to the minute news in the hands of readers first thing in the morning.

I bet there are some amazing adventure stories from reporters, editors and those running the printing machines from all hours of the night and dark corners of the world. Probably an interesting, sometimes exciting, sometimes mundane and sometimes frustrating life of a journalist.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Most newspapers of all sizes dug their own graves. Far too few intrepid reporters.
Way too much insightful, interesting, and probing content to be found elsewhere.
My local paper is now essentially a five-page pamphlet of rehashed information.

I think journalism is alive and mostly 'well'. Places where you can find good, ACCURATE' news and information abounds. Just the form has changed..from a thing you hold in your hand to something on the inter web. The ease at which you can access these sites is astounding..so the audience 'can' be huge.

BUT, along with that are sites that do nothing but spew hate, division, lies and misinformation. If these were "in print" rags, they would be placed in the dustbin of history, or on the rack next to the grocery checkout..

"Queen Elizabeth had a affair with a turtle", type crap. BUT, welcome to the US Constitution, where lying on a web site via a 'news' program, is not only allowed but celebrated.

BUT 'good' news organizations, that can 'evolve' from a print newspaper to an 'online newspaper', will succeed. It's the number of online and 'on TV' 'rags' that bug me..

[unterhausen]

Our local paper is but a shell of its former self. It got bought up by McClatchy years ago and that was really bad for it. There are two new websites that are pretty good, at least one of them got called "fake news" (in the proper use of the term meaning "true") by the president of Penn State. There is a long-time local news website that has always been fairly decent, and probably has gotten better as the paper got worse.

As an aside, McClatchy owns so many local papers, they really should sell a pass to all of them. I would definitely consider that, whereas the local paper isn't worth it by itself

[MikeD]

I quit my local regional paper (not truly a local paper; those went out long ago) and went with Apple News. Took me less than 5 minutes to read the local paper as most of the articles were politically biased. I could tell from the article headline. All I want is the facts. No spin, no politics, minimal opinions. Not that I get that with Apple News, but there's a wide variety of news there, articles from big papers like the Wall Street Journal, plus full magazines including cycling ones.

[benb]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

Not that my idea would have saved newspapers, but the point is that many of those in power refused to recognize the enemy, which wasn't Craiglist or Monster -- it was their own dependence on and conceit about continued profit margins.

Reminds me of my 2 year contract at a company that did print yellow pages about 20 years ago. I didn't work on the print yellow pages, I worked on their online version. The online version made money, but at that time the print business was billions per year. They basically couldn't see that the paper business was going to die and never invested in it properly. Today the paper business is a tiny fraction (1/1000th?) of what it was and they completely ceded and sold off the online version and that online version is not even on the radar.

Them not converting me to a FTE was a great thing for my career.

[saf-t]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

I have no answer. And journalism schools keep pumping out graduates. Beats me as to why someone would choose it as a career, but more power to them.

Speaking as a former wire service then newspaper photojournalist (and J school grad), because despite the increasingly limited opportunities to do so, there are still lots of important stories to tell, and rocks to be lifted to expose what's underneath. I can't help but feel that there's a link between the demise of print journalism and what seems to be a corresponding lack of interest in democracy.

Putting my money where my mouth is, we currently have one print subscription, and two digital ones.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . for eight years and a photo editor for 22. Now freelancing a bit, mostly cycling events. My local (independent) paper laid me and about a hundred others off in 2008. The paper (The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY) is still around and actually doing OK. but it is a pale shadow of it's former cash cow self.

But with everyone now having a cmarea in their phone and fancying themselves to be good photographers, the value of editorial photography for freelancing has sunk through the floor and with Photoshop and now AI, as far a I'm concerned, honest, ethical, informative photojournalism is dead.

I try not to let it bother me, but looking at journalism in general, I feel like an . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KACt6YhOyY

BBD

Originally Posted by saf-t

Speaking as a former wire service then newspaper photojournalist (and J school grad), because despite the increasingly limited opportunities to do so, there are still lots of important stories to tell, and rocks to be lifted to expose what's underneath. I can't help but feel that there's a link between the demise of print journalism and what seems to be a corresponding lack of interest in democracy.

Putting my money where my mouth is, we currently have one print subscription, and two digital ones.

[Old School]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Took me less than 5 minutes to read the local paper as most of the articles were politically biased. I could tell from the article headline. All I want is the facts. No spin, no politics, minimal opinions.

Gannet newspapers in a nutshell. They make Pravda seem like the truth.

[el cheapo]

Most people don't read newspapers or watch TV news. I've lived all over the country and this seems to be true across our entire nation. Try to talk about current events or even the weather forecast and people have no clue as to what you are talking about. I can't count the times where I've mentioned that severe weather is forecast and the response is always the same...I didn't know that.

[Ralph]

It took me a while, but now I prefer reading our local paper (Orlando Sentinel) on my phone. Big step for me who had picked up the local paper off the driveway for over 50 years. It doesn't have the content of the past, but still has a few investigative reporters. Helps keep local politicians honest. Can think of a few now in jail because of their reporting.

[m_sasso]

Originally Posted by el cheapo

Most people don't read newspapers or watch TV news. I've lived all over the country and this seems to be true across our entire nation. Try to talk about current events or even the weather forecast and people have no clue as to what you are talking about. I can't count the times where I've mentioned that severe weather is forecast and the response is always the same...I didn't know that.

Same here, it is frustrating sometimes to read posts on the Paceline where people haven't bothered to read the posts before theirs and make some highly questionable comment.

However, I must say I am always impressed with many of the members posts on the Paceline in referance to their communication and writing skills, lots of past journalists and their skills and abbilities are appreciated.