My Sunday newspaper column
This is not the golden age of newspapers.
The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Baltimore Sun and the San Jose Mercury News have all announced staff reductions and buyouts. Major stockholders of the Knight Ridder, a distinguished newspaper chain that includes the Charlotte Observer, have called for the sale of the company.
Newspapers have found themselves in the middle of ethics scandals -- Jayson Blair -- and political scandals -- Judith Miller.
Circulation figures for the 18 of the top largest 20 newspapers in the country declined over the past six months. Across the nation, average weekday circulation fell 2.6 percent in the same period. (In a ray of "good" news, the News & Record's weekday circulation didn't do as poorly; it only dropped 0.56 percent.)
No, it's not anywhere close to the golden age of newspapers.
But it could be the dawning of a golden age of journalism.
I don't mean to be a Pollyanna –- it's really not in my nature -- but I believe that newspapers can place some smart bets on the future and our journalism will be as strong as ever. Different, but strong.
The opportunities are numerous. The challenge is to seize those opportunities and improve our service to you.
A year ago, I wrote about creating an inviting place where people can come for information, where they can engage with us and each other, where they can make good things happen for themselves and for the community. Our progress has been slower than I'd like, but it's been steady and we're moving forward.
More and more people are getting their news and information online. The Web offers us the ability to do things newsprint doesn't. In addition to providing news anytime of the day, we can produce audio and video, once the sole province of radio and television. We've been experimenting with both mediums recently and will do much more of it in the weeks and months to come.
The newspaper is going to change to serve you better, too.
An editorial in Columbia Journalism Review, a newspaper trade magazine, asked newspaper editors a series of tough questions last week.
"Take a look at the front page of your newspaper today. How many stories are on events that the average reader has already heard something about? The Metro section, is it riveting and creative? Or incremental and cramped? Does the paper have strong voices? Does it provide the kind of context that cuts through the fog of information? Does it have any fun? Does the photography speak volumes? Does the Web site offer more than digital newsprint? Can a reader get into the conversation? Do you want to read this newspaper?"
We can't answer all those questions the way we'd like yet. But we're working on them.
We are in the early stages of planning improvements to the look and content of the paper. We will refresh our design to make it bolder and easier to navigate. We hope to add more local news to bring you more in touch with your community. At the same time, we will add deeper national and international news coverage to help you understand more of what's happening in the world.
Along the way, we hope to develop stronger voices –- both yours and ours -- to shine a spotlight rather than a flashlight into the dark corners, and to provide more serendipity and a greater sense of fun in our pages.
In essence, we need to tell you things you don't know.
Despite the recent spate of bad news for the newspaper business, it is actually an exciting, energizing time to be in journalism. If serving the community is the goal -- and I submit it is for the vast majority of journalists -- then the opportunities are bountiful.
Comments (7)
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You know, I don't remember exactly what brought it up (I'm pretty sure it was the local election coverage by the Courier Tribune - or maybe it got started when I observed that no one attended the "Certificate of Need" hearing on Randolph Hospital's proposed outpatient facility - probably because no one knew about it), but my family, friends and I have recently had several spirited conversations about the relevancy of print newspapers (particularly locally) - the most recent one being this past Sunday. On Sunday my Mom (of all people) brought up a number of the points I have blogged on regarding the News & Record's "coverage" of Randolph County. A great Southern lady of the old school, Mom is very, very hard to rile up - but her commentary was very critical. So the rest of us took notice.
My family knows I post on blogs (lately mostly ProCare's), but until yesterday they were unaware that I have posted thoughts on this very subject on the N&R blog (answering your invitation) - pretty much to no avail.
In terms of the print subscription "dynamics" of those involved in these discussions, I gave my N&R subscription up because I live on the road (having been literally driven out of town by the local hospital CEO for the sin of having a "strong voice"), can get my news online, and would prefer to save trees. Several of my friends have stopped buying newspapers altogether - and have expressed disgust for the obvious very polar biases of both the N&R and the Courier (whose website is just about as far behind the times as one could be). My boyfriend told one of your salespeople what to do with a N&R subscription when they called him last week. My Mom still has a subscription but is teetering on the brink (I read hers when I'm home).
The consensus of the conversation on Sunday was that people in Asheboro don't (1) show up to vote or (2) buy fewer papers because they know (A) the same people are going to run the town and get their way no matter what (those with the most money or best connections/pedigree rule), and (B) nothing is going to change because no one (pariticularly not the press) really polices #1 - in fact, the local daily newspaper is a huge part of the problem down here (as everybody knows it's just a mouthpiece for the Chamber of Commerce). There are "strong voices" - and important issues - being ignored completely (it's the reason I've taken to the blogs). So the average citizen, who just wants everybody to play fair and have a nice life, has given up on both the politicians and the "journalists".
A friend recently offered that, after a while, all the corruption and scandals and ethical lapses (on all levels) just blend together. People know it happens every day - it's as old as time and they know no one is going to really do anything about it (until the perps are caught or have a gun to their head), and people have just developed an "immunity" to the bad news. "Strong voices" simply cannot make a difference as the news (and everything else) becomes more "corporatized", so the consensus seems more and more to be give us the fluff and let us move on.
I guess my point is that "journalism" starts with what is going on in the backyard. You've blogged on declining circulation trends a number of times, John (if I recall correctly, for a while, you boasted that the N&R's numbers were not following national trends - but now it appears that they are - perhaps just not as fast). You've blogged poetic on community service. You've asked for suggestions - and people have given them to you. Strong voices - with stories to tell. But some of us are still waiting on the batteries for the flashlight.
Posted on November 14, 2005 1:03 PM
Mary, a suggestion - you could get your points across more effectively, while coming across as more respectful of John's space, if you limited your comments to 3 or 4 sentences plus linkage to further information located elsewhere (on your blog?) for those who wanted to read further.
Posted on November 15, 2005 3:00 AM
Anna, I don't have my own blog - well, I do - one home page on blogspot.com I created several months ago. But the problem I've encountered as a physician (particularly as one who lives on the road), is that I just don't have the time it takes to properly devote to that project. I wish to God I did.
The reason I live on the road has to do with a seven-year-old story in Asheboro that John and his editorial board are well aware of but have refused to investigate or report. The story is told on my website (please click my name). It says much about what is wrong with medicine and medical oversight - not to mention the massive waste of taxpayer dollars (particularly in Medicaid) . . . nearly a billion dollars lost to administrative greed and apathy in one program alone.
It's not a two or three sentence thing.
The newspapers (in Raleigh/Charlotte/Greensboro) aren't reporting that either. ALL of this happened under the administration of the Governor that the News & Record (and these other big city newspapers) endorsed, and I just think it is journalistic hypocrisy now not to report the story - demand reform - and press for prosecution of the people and/or institutions that abused the system and bled the public coffers dry. A free press is supposed to "police" society. I am seeing less and less evidence that this is so - the press is becoming part of the problem.
God knows we've read boatloads of tripe (in print and on the blogs) about the "Truth & Reconcilliation" project (which I honestly view very skeptically). Why not look at a situation that is relevant to something that really affects all of us NOW (since our property taxes are going up to make up for Medicaid shortfalls and Mental Health funding by the state is bone dry) - something concrete that we can really fix.
John repeatedly editorializes here about how much the paper wants to serve the community - he periodically posts stories about the changing face of journalism and declining circulation, and I gave him a prime example of why people (from an area his paper says it serves) are putting less and less faith in newspapers. In my own case, John has yet to send a reporter down to talk to me, or take a serious look at the case/documentation. If you want to know why doctors are getting out of medicine, all you have to do is hear what happened to one in "public service" in Asheboro. I protested in front of Randolph Hospital TWICE last spring (doctors don't do that everyday) and the News & Record did not print a word. I have to wonder if it is because my story would embarrass some pretty venerated local healthcare institutions - all of whom advertise prominently in John's paper. Every single time he tosses out one of these "look at everything we've done" posts . . . yet another day of silence roars on my end . . . it grates.
If my posts have not always been "respectful" of John's space (for the record, I have seen some whopper posts on this blog), I am sorry. But his newspaper has not shown due respect to my predicament. So I'm not exactly repentant. If blogs are the place to get stories "out there" that the newspapers otherwise ignore, then here I am.
I guess I did it again.
Posted on November 15, 2005 12:23 PM
Yup.
When someone turns a forum into a soapbox to make claims of a) wrongdoing and b) authorities' ignoring of prior such claims, the first thing the reader wonders is "is this person a crank"? If s/he is, the reader's best off joining the authorities in ignoring the claims.
One way to show that you're a reasonable person (thus, that other reasonable people should give credence to your concerns) is to show respect for the social norms of the forum you're in. People who can't or won't do so, come across as cranks.
Posted on November 16, 2005 4:11 PM
Anna, if you've read my website . . . which, in accordance with the "norms" of the forum, I've linked to my name . . . and still think I'm a "crank" or being unreasonable, that's fine.
If you're interested (like John and his editorial board, it sounds like you're not) there's another forum on healthcare fraud & abuse you might want to check out (or not): the blog at ProCare.org.
As an observation, there are a whole lot of people with soapboxes who post on this blog . . . just mention the name George Bush and they all come out of the woodwork . . . and post/blather/bubble on forever . . . saying things I would never dream of saying in any kind of forum (sometimes I think the N&R prints certain Letters to the Editor for the sheer entertainment & occupation of the bloggers). Are they all cranks? Or just me when I call John on totally ignoring a story he should have given some attention to long ago?
John keeps asking for feedback and strong voices. He got both. Instead of defending his space (his job) on the premise of blog etiquette, you might ask him why he's not using some soap on the dirt I've brought to his attention.
Posted on November 16, 2005 6:16 PM
Dr. Johnson, as I've told you in an e-mail, people suggest stories to us every day. Many of them are worth pursuing. But we have way more story ideas than we can possibly chase ourselves. While I don't doubt you have a good story, right now it isn't one we're going to tell. I encourage you to approach other media outlets with it.
Posted on November 16, 2005 8:12 PM
Par for the course and befitting of the News & Record's track record in Asheboro & Randolph County . . . where we are served with bad journalism (Ethan Feinsilver) or no journalism at all.
And you wonder why local readers are less and less inclined to sift through the nothing to get to the five pounds of ads you will be dumping on our doorsteps on Black Friday?
That's two sentences (for Anna).
Posted on November 17, 2005 9:10 AM