Sad but true. We lost one of our two papers. The remaining newspaper’s investigative team has been decimated. The TV and Radio news stations are a joke. The City’s budget keeps growing with little accountability. I imagine the situation is similar elsewhere.
I am not convinced an investigative journalist who publishes online is any less thorough than one who publishes in a dead tree newspaper owned by corporate interests. After all, a free press just guarantees you freedom from government manipulation, not that done by other interests.
It’s a ytpical chicken-egg case. I stopped getting the newspaper (the big ones) because of their poor journalist quality. I still get the local one. When the big newspaper moved to the Internet, they didn’t use the lower cost media to improve their quality. Quite the contrary, now we have shorter articles of less value, poorly written, filled with intrusive and distracting advertising. I don’t want it for free but I don’t want to pay more than it’s worth. And, today, free is too expensive.
The REAL problem is the goobers who AUTOMATICALLY believe ANYTHING they find on-line that happens to agree with whatever whacko idea they already have! They will see it on Prison Planet, or some other crackpot loony site, and IMMEDIATELY start crowing: “SEE?? SEE?? I TOLD YOU SO! It’s right here!! There ARE LIZARD PEOPLE living among us!!” or “LOOK!!! PROOF that the Illuminati really DO run the World!” or “LOOK!!! LOOK!!! PROOF that trump really is sane, and knows what he’s doing!”. Scary the things that people will believe, isn’t it??
The Telecommunications Act in 1996 allowed indirect control of the media by our government. Since then it has become more and more biased. The Internet may have its biased reporters but it also allows for those not in the clutches of the media conglomerate to present their ideas. The trick it to figure out which is which!
In the town I grew up in the local city and town newspapers were replaced by a single county newspaper. And the result is no real oversight on local government. There is now a local blog, but it’s one man’s toy, and he attacks absolutely everything the local government does, so nobody takes him seriously.
Local papers die, now we have too much news all the time. Over stimulation. Its an addiction. And has not been good for us as a whole. We search out what we want like an addict
I subscribe to the NYTimes, Washington Post and St. Louis Post Dispatch. If you get your news for free from the internet, then the news you get is worth what you are paying for it.
The front page above-the-fold headline today from my local paper, The News & Observer, referring to the state’s Republican house speaker, Tim Moore:
Aide’s inquiry about plant Moore sold draws scrutiny
Just one of many outstanding N&O stories about the corrupt politicians we breed here in North Carolina.
So investigative reporting is still being done. And yes, I am a long-time paid subscriber. (Oh, another bonus: no trees were destroyed in the “printing” of that paper; it’s a PDF facsimile of the printed paper edition.)
Government doesn’t control the press, big business does. And they control the media. It ain’t News anymore, it’s “media” and it’s bought and paid for by advertising. Advertising by its very nature is propaganda and most Americans are clueless about what that is. Here’s your proof – CNN regularly used to scoop the WH and the Pentagon, one newspaper spurred the rest of the press into shedding daylight on a WH conspiracy that until then was looked upon as running the country in the right direction, the Vietnam War policy of the government was uncovered as having been built on lies and fear that the truth would undermine the government (nevermind thousands of dead, we need to keep backing up the concept), etc. Now? News stories never get mentioned let alone see the light of day if they step on sponsors’ toes. There is no independent press in the USA. The News is entirely bought and paid for. Impartiality? Ha! The truth shall set you free but it’ll cost you, just like always but now? They’ll buy your trust long before they earn it if they ever do.
Newspapers are largely supported by advertising, not newstand or subscription price. On-line and cable news are largely supported by advertising (look at this page). The big difference, in my opinion, is the attention span and the level of true liberal (as opposed to vocational) education of the readers.
When Denver built DIA…some people got together to force a vote, as to many people, just expanding the old airport would be enough, and much healthier for the city. There was a great deal of corruption in the 4 billion 1990 project. Both Denver newspapers spiked any stories that might lead voters to vote it down. For years the only information about the corruption was on talk radio.
As someone who has worked fore a local newspaper – the slow demise of printed news is sad but inevitable. Now all we have are the one-sided views of USA Today and NY Times. Sigh…
The deterioration of the quality of local newspapers is what actually led to their demise. Most, if not all,“local” papers are not at all local anymore. They’re owned and controlled by “media companies” who standardize the content to suit their advertising interests and add national content purchased from news organizations like Reuters and Nexus/Lexus. Local investigative reporting is almost nonexistent. I pay to support online sources of quality journalism and have the ability to tell sh#t from Shinola. That said, I live in a major American city and local reporting is usually done by TV stations and rarely covered by the “local” paper.
For 34 years I subscribed to the paper in Austin TX. Occasionally a delivery would be missed, and I called, and they took care of it, no big deal. But then about a year ago, I started having missed deliveries about once a week. This went on and on; and I called repeatedly and emailed repeatedly, and everyone said they were so sorry, but nobody fixed the problem. I tried calling and asking to speak to the customer service manager, but they said that was not possible, they only thing they could do would be leave a note for the carrier. WTH? Like the carrier doesn’t know they aren’t doing their job? Finally, after 12 missed papers in 13 weeks, I gave up and cancelled, and got an online subscription to WaPo instead. Much to my surprise, I don’t miss the Austin paper at all. I just don’t know how they stay in business with service like that.
Newspapers are important. For one thing, Americans know that they can (generally) trust the more established brands, the NYT, the WSJ. With the internet, you have to wonder. Newspapers are a training-intensive industry with a lot of investment into talent and skill. Most online brands simply do not have the capital, or incentive to use that capital, to invest in the quality of their reporters. And newspapers have a leg up on TV, where everything is even more sensational, and people are used to having a short attention span. With newspapers, I can sit back and read a long, thought-provoking article. (or the Economist)
Yeah, they decided who they would report on. And because many of the “reporters” are married or the offspring of the corrupt government leaches a great deal was covered up. Now common people can report what the government people are doing. The internet has given everyone a soapbox.
We pay for what we perceive has value, i.e., I pay the subscription price for GoComics because it is valuable to me. Once my local paper finally went totally over to the socialist, collectivist editorial bend, it no longer provided enough value to continue my subscription. I’m sure this is what’s truly killing print news, not the internet.
Craigslist ate into their ad revenue, and their inability to get basic facts correct in local reporting led to a loss of trust/value. But sure keep blaming the readers.
Once upon a time there were newspapers that reported objective truths, exposed government waste and fraud and promoted small government and individual empowerment. The centeal planners shrank and private economies flourished as all enjoyed lower prices and more access to high quality services and products. The poor benefitted most as the greedy in The government were sent running for the hills..
Oh wait…that IS a Fairy tale.
Turns out papers are alive and well.
They are actually progressive propaganda machines constantly promoting bigger government, more corruption, less freedom and individual subservience to the collective. They run constant phony narratives of people hurt by partail government shutdowns, climate change, so-called hate and people being cheated in free economies.
The papers could make a Difference for the better, but have actually promoted big government at the local level and its inherent corruption for decades.
Excuse me, but why local? Here in Wisconsin we just suffered thru 8 years of right-wing politicians trying to take power from local government because it was the ONLY thing (aside from the feds, which have been the same for the last 2 years anyway) standing in their way. And they still run the legislature because they drew the districts!
Sorry Stephan, what really happened is that those reporters threw in with the corrupt politicians to mislead the people to whom they are providing news, thus allowing the corrupt politicians to remain in office and become even more wealthy and powerful. Internet has actually allowed people who see things to communicate with one another and identify the corruption going on in both the media and politics.
Obviously, Cartoon-Boy is not familiar with The Chicago Way. It’s corruption, all the way down, and it never gets cleaned up, investigative reports or not….
Stories used to require verification from multiple sources, or an ethical news outlet would not publish. Now, with “Anonymous” as the only required source, anything can get out on the wire, repeated a thousand times, and when it’s proven to be a crock, the retraction is publicly viewable on page 22, embedded in the JPEG code of an ad for fertilizer.
BE THIS GUY almost 6 years ago
All that counts is that people BELIEVE their politicians are good.
DennisinSeattle almost 6 years ago
Sad but true. We lost one of our two papers. The remaining newspaper’s investigative team has been decimated. The TV and Radio news stations are a joke. The City’s budget keeps growing with little accountability. I imagine the situation is similar elsewhere.
Bilan almost 6 years ago
And now the “good” government is firing any law enforcers that uncover just how good they really are.
santa72404 almost 6 years ago
Once Upon a Time is ALL THE TIME.
some idiot from R'lyeh Premium Member almost 6 years ago
I am not convinced an investigative journalist who publishes online is any less thorough than one who publishes in a dead tree newspaper owned by corporate interests. After all, a free press just guarantees you freedom from government manipulation, not that done by other interests.
Also lol at the idea of Panel 3.
Breadboard almost 6 years ago
Just put the Crocs in charge ! Zebra in every pot !
erik.vanthienen almost 6 years ago
The moment Trump* got “elected”, I got myself an online subscription to the Washington Post. And I live in Belgium …
blunebottle almost 6 years ago
Sadly, true investigative journalism seems to have left the building.
James Wolfenstein almost 6 years ago
It’s a ytpical chicken-egg case. I stopped getting the newspaper (the big ones) because of their poor journalist quality. I still get the local one. When the big newspaper moved to the Internet, they didn’t use the lower cost media to improve their quality. Quite the contrary, now we have shorter articles of less value, poorly written, filled with intrusive and distracting advertising. I don’t want it for free but I don’t want to pay more than it’s worth. And, today, free is too expensive.
Masterskrain almost 6 years ago
The REAL problem is the goobers who AUTOMATICALLY believe ANYTHING they find on-line that happens to agree with whatever whacko idea they already have! They will see it on Prison Planet, or some other crackpot loony site, and IMMEDIATELY start crowing: “SEE?? SEE?? I TOLD YOU SO! It’s right here!! There ARE LIZARD PEOPLE living among us!!” or “LOOK!!! PROOF that the Illuminati really DO run the World!” or “LOOK!!! LOOK!!! PROOF that trump really is sane, and knows what he’s doing!”. Scary the things that people will believe, isn’t it??
Qiset almost 6 years ago
The Telecommunications Act in 1996 allowed indirect control of the media by our government. Since then it has become more and more biased. The Internet may have its biased reporters but it also allows for those not in the clutches of the media conglomerate to present their ideas. The trick it to figure out which is which!
mjb515 almost 6 years ago
It might help if journalists did not believe that they are cheerleaders for the Party of Government.
JingoDog almost 6 years ago
Please see https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp for ideas on how journalist in any media, print or online, could conduct themselves.
Ignatz Premium Member almost 6 years ago
In the town I grew up in the local city and town newspapers were replaced by a single county newspaper. And the result is no real oversight on local government. There is now a local blog, but it’s one man’s toy, and he attacks absolutely everything the local government does, so nobody takes him seriously.
uniquename almost 6 years ago
The government is good. It’s just a question of what they’re good at.
bmeaton Premium Member almost 6 years ago
It doesn’t matter how many papers you subscribe to; they’re all owned by 2 or 3 companies and they all eat out of the same trough.
diskus Premium Member almost 6 years ago
Local papers die, now we have too much news all the time. Over stimulation. Its an addiction. And has not been good for us as a whole. We search out what we want like an addict
FrankHammond almost 6 years ago
News? We want our comics for Free!
rs0204 Premium Member almost 6 years ago
I subscribe to the NYTimes, Washington Post and St. Louis Post Dispatch. If you get your news for free from the internet, then the news you get is worth what you are paying for it.
Andrew Sleeth almost 6 years ago
The front page above-the-fold headline today from my local paper, The News & Observer, referring to the state’s Republican house speaker, Tim Moore:
Aide’s inquiry about plant Moore sold draws scrutiny
Just one of many outstanding N&O stories about the corrupt politicians we breed here in North Carolina.
So investigative reporting is still being done. And yes, I am a long-time paid subscriber. (Oh, another bonus: no trees were destroyed in the “printing” of that paper; it’s a PDF facsimile of the printed paper edition.)
Display almost 6 years ago
Government doesn’t control the press, big business does. And they control the media. It ain’t News anymore, it’s “media” and it’s bought and paid for by advertising. Advertising by its very nature is propaganda and most Americans are clueless about what that is. Here’s your proof – CNN regularly used to scoop the WH and the Pentagon, one newspaper spurred the rest of the press into shedding daylight on a WH conspiracy that until then was looked upon as running the country in the right direction, the Vietnam War policy of the government was uncovered as having been built on lies and fear that the truth would undermine the government (nevermind thousands of dead, we need to keep backing up the concept), etc. Now? News stories never get mentioned let alone see the light of day if they step on sponsors’ toes. There is no independent press in the USA. The News is entirely bought and paid for. Impartiality? Ha! The truth shall set you free but it’ll cost you, just like always but now? They’ll buy your trust long before they earn it if they ever do.
jomali3945 almost 6 years ago
Newspapers are largely supported by advertising, not newstand or subscription price. On-line and cable news are largely supported by advertising (look at this page). The big difference, in my opinion, is the attention span and the level of true liberal (as opposed to vocational) education of the readers.
waes-hael almost 6 years ago
Subscribe to your local paper! In Metro-LA, OC and the IE, it’s the SoCal News Group. Find your local, here:
http://www.socalnewsgroup.com/new-page/
VICTOR PROULX almost 6 years ago
When Denver built DIA…some people got together to force a vote, as to many people, just expanding the old airport would be enough, and much healthier for the city. There was a great deal of corruption in the 4 billion 1990 project. Both Denver newspapers spiked any stories that might lead voters to vote it down. For years the only information about the corruption was on talk radio.
Radish... almost 6 years ago
My paper supports the not good government.
DCBakerEsq almost 6 years ago
The 5th Column.
Itty-Bitty almost 6 years ago
Non-profit news is our only hope.
WCraft Premium Member almost 6 years ago
As someone who has worked fore a local newspaper – the slow demise of printed news is sad but inevitable. Now all we have are the one-sided views of USA Today and NY Times. Sigh…
ED CANTWELL almost 6 years ago
The deterioration of the quality of local newspapers is what actually led to their demise. Most, if not all,“local” papers are not at all local anymore. They’re owned and controlled by “media companies” who standardize the content to suit their advertising interests and add national content purchased from news organizations like Reuters and Nexus/Lexus. Local investigative reporting is almost nonexistent. I pay to support online sources of quality journalism and have the ability to tell sh#t from Shinola. That said, I live in a major American city and local reporting is usually done by TV stations and rarely covered by the “local” paper.
ValancyCarmody Premium Member almost 6 years ago
For 34 years I subscribed to the paper in Austin TX. Occasionally a delivery would be missed, and I called, and they took care of it, no big deal. But then about a year ago, I started having missed deliveries about once a week. This went on and on; and I called repeatedly and emailed repeatedly, and everyone said they were so sorry, but nobody fixed the problem. I tried calling and asking to speak to the customer service manager, but they said that was not possible, they only thing they could do would be leave a note for the carrier. WTH? Like the carrier doesn’t know they aren’t doing their job? Finally, after 12 missed papers in 13 weeks, I gave up and cancelled, and got an online subscription to WaPo instead. Much to my surprise, I don’t miss the Austin paper at all. I just don’t know how they stay in business with service like that.
benjamineyal almost 6 years ago
Newspapers are important. For one thing, Americans know that they can (generally) trust the more established brands, the NYT, the WSJ. With the internet, you have to wonder. Newspapers are a training-intensive industry with a lot of investment into talent and skill. Most online brands simply do not have the capital, or incentive to use that capital, to invest in the quality of their reporters. And newspapers have a leg up on TV, where everything is even more sensational, and people are used to having a short attention span. With newspapers, I can sit back and read a long, thought-provoking article. (or the Economist)
TerBer almost 6 years ago
WE all pay. Some with money, others with time. I don’t have cable tv either, it cost you money and time. Are paying money to watch comercials?
Hello Sweetie almost 6 years ago
Yeah, they decided who they would report on. And because many of the “reporters” are married or the offspring of the corrupt government leaches a great deal was covered up. Now common people can report what the government people are doing. The internet has given everyone a soapbox.
TheLetterista.com almost 6 years ago
We pay for what we perceive has value, i.e., I pay the subscription price for GoComics because it is valuable to me. Once my local paper finally went totally over to the socialist, collectivist editorial bend, it no longer provided enough value to continue my subscription. I’m sure this is what’s truly killing print news, not the internet.
The Sinistral Bassist Premium Member almost 6 years ago
Craigslist ate into their ad revenue, and their inability to get basic facts correct in local reporting led to a loss of trust/value. But sure keep blaming the readers.
Brain Pudding almost 6 years ago
Once upon a time there were newspapers that reported objective truths, exposed government waste and fraud and promoted small government and individual empowerment. The centeal planners shrank and private economies flourished as all enjoyed lower prices and more access to high quality services and products. The poor benefitted most as the greedy in The government were sent running for the hills..
Oh wait…that IS a Fairy tale.
Turns out papers are alive and well.
They are actually progressive propaganda machines constantly promoting bigger government, more corruption, less freedom and individual subservience to the collective. They run constant phony narratives of people hurt by partail government shutdowns, climate change, so-called hate and people being cheated in free economies.
The papers could make a Difference for the better, but have actually promoted big government at the local level and its inherent corruption for decades.
1504jarvis almost 6 years ago
We have only one newspaper left here in Milwaukee. It is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. Its reporting is more bias than a Democrat Party newsletter.
ebrooks almost 6 years ago
Excuse me, but why local? Here in Wisconsin we just suffered thru 8 years of right-wing politicians trying to take power from local government because it was the ONLY thing (aside from the feds, which have been the same for the last 2 years anyway) standing in their way. And they still run the legislature because they drew the districts!
SukieCrandall Premium Member almost 6 years ago
Well said, SP.
MCProfessor almost 6 years ago
Newspapers aren’t any better!
mklange Premium Member almost 6 years ago
Sorry Stephan, what really happened is that those reporters threw in with the corrupt politicians to mislead the people to whom they are providing news, thus allowing the corrupt politicians to remain in office and become even more wealthy and powerful. Internet has actually allowed people who see things to communicate with one another and identify the corruption going on in both the media and politics.
CougarAllen almost 6 years ago
At least in my area the local bloggers are much better at exposing corruption than the local newspapers.
Sisyphos almost 6 years ago
Obviously, Cartoon-Boy is not familiar with The Chicago Way. It’s corruption, all the way down, and it never gets cleaned up, investigative reports or not….
Concretionist almost 6 years ago
Even in the dead-tree-news days, advertising was the main source of income.
John D. Wilder Premium Member almost 6 years ago
Just for fun and a scare, watch “The Post”.
Nick Danger almost 6 years ago
Stories used to require verification from multiple sources, or an ethical news outlet would not publish. Now, with “Anonymous” as the only required source, anything can get out on the wire, repeated a thousand times, and when it’s proven to be a crock, the retraction is publicly viewable on page 22, embedded in the JPEG code of an ad for fertilizer.