Jan

24

The cost of reporting

Posted by admin on Jan 24, 2009 under: community journalism 

The bad economy seems to be speeding up the downward slide of advertising dollars spent on newspapers. As a result, the discussion about the future of news and who is going to pay for it is reaching a new level of intensity. Just today, when I took my daily look at Jim Romenesko’s blog about the industry, I found most entries were about this very dilemma.I was an early convert to the power of the Internet to convey news, but I nevertheless am sympathetic to those experts and journalists who rail against the possible demise of the printed newspaper. For me, it is not because I need to have my news delivered on something concrete like paper. I honestly get just about all my news online. I worry about the future of newspapers because I value their newsrooms filled with reporters and editors. I think it’s important that young reporters get a chance to develop professionally — learning the ropes on general assignment, adding depth to their skills on a beat so that they can tackle a national or foreign post with sufficient experience. Editors, too, are needed to shape coverage, and to make sure all the right angles are being covered, and to be there when questions about ethics arise. In my many years in newsrooms, I always learned from my colleagues.While I understand that the old models are fast becoming obsolete, I worry that this very important support structure that is built into newspaper newsrooms would be lost in new models that are all about being lean.  Here is an interesting discussion on NPR’s On The Media program that is worth listening to. interesting discussion on this subject.

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