An old friend from my newspaper days emailed over the weekend to say she’s headed for the door at her paper, forced out in an early retirement package to reduce personnel and costs.
Her email is one of a dozen I’ve received in recent weeks from former colleagues put on the street by cutbacks or closings of their newspapers. Last week, a Hollins University student I’ve been mentoring for a photojournalism career decided to change her major. She’s afraid she won’t be able get a job on a newspaper when she graduates.
I was 12 years old when I decided I wanted to be a newpaperman. It’s all I ever wanted to do. I tried other things but none ever matched the joy of working for a publication produced daily or weekly on processed wood pulp. One of the greatest pleasures to come out of a return to Floyd County after 40 years was a chance to write and shoot photos, once again, for a newspaper.
Newspapers served this country long before I was born. I never believed I would outlive the business. Now it seems I might.
Over 100 newspapers in this country closed outright or ceased print publications in the last six month. Closures are expected to increase in the coming year. Many are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy or close to it. Many dailies are cutting back on the days they print.
The Roanoke Times trimmed its work force in 2007, forcing early retirement on many veterans who provided much of the depth and institutional knowledge of the paper. One of their newest reporters told me two weeks ago she had to get directions on how to find Floyd. All employees of the paper will take a forced week off without pay this year to cut expenses. Most fear more cuts are coming.
Writes Heath Haussamen in The New Mexico Independent:
Newspapers are currently in as bad a spot as the ailing American automotive industry that is about to get a big, taxpayer-funded bailout. I believe many newspapers are going to shut their doors for good during this economic downturn, crippling watchdog journalism in some communities. The biggest threat is in smaller towns, where big-city corporations that have snatched up little papers for years to try to boost profits are likely to, in some cases, give up on those endeavors.
Such towns usually have one daily newspaper and draw less attention from television and Internet journalists than larger cities. Towns of thousands or tens of thousands of people could literally be left without a reliable journalistic source of information about their local government and other news when their daily newspaper stops publishing. At best, they might be left with an alternative weekly.
Which raises the question: When the last newspaper closes its doors, who will be there to report the story?
It’s a shame what has been happening to the newspapers. I’m still a faithful daily reader of my local print edition, and one of my first and favorite things to do when I travel some place is to pick up their local paper, no matter how small. As long as you’re dealing with local writers and publishers, there’s no better way to get a taste of what a place is about.
As for the flood of papers going bankrupt, it would be interesting to see how many of them are locally owned and published, and how many are owned by far away conglomerates, who swallowed them up with a huge wad of debt. It’s just another example of how corporate conglomeration has failed the American consumer. The corporate owner is only concerned about one thing, and that’s the bottom line at the end of each month.
Doug, I’m the daughter of two writers, and when I was in college I majored in Journalism. Worked for several papers in my life (some for pay and some not). In CA there recently has been a noticeable change. Many of our daily newspapers have shurnk in size. Now, as a woman, I like the new size, as I can now actually open the paper and read now, withough it drooping toward the floor in the middle.
Do I subscribe to a daily newspaper now? The saddening response is no. I receive my news where many of us do – from the NET. I can log on to Yahoo and in an instant receive an update on say, the Austrailian monster fires, as I did yesterday. I now look at the trees around me as things of beauty – not of pulp. May they grow – many and strong. May they live a long life! Pulp is on its way out. Linda
I talked to some of the veterans who found themselves forced out by early retirement and they did feel the decision was made for them. I’ve known a couple of them for a long, long time and they didn’t want to retire. You might want to have lunch with some of the "retirees." It could be educational.
Institutional knowledge is very important. Those with years of experiences have knowledge that cannot be found in a Google search or a trip to the clip morgue.
Young reporters do have a place in journalism and they do represent the future but a newspaper is best served with a mix of young and old, experience and enthusiasm. When I was a 19-year-old reporter for The Roanoke Times, I thought I knew it all. I didn’t. Not even close. Veteran reporters like Ben Beagle, Mel Carrico and Paul Dellinger helped me learn the ropes and brought my young ego back down to earth. Where are the veterans today to help mentor young reporters? Retired, forced out by a media chain more interested in the bottom line than the quality of the news product.
When I took a new job with a newspaper, the first thing I would do was spend my off-the-job time learning the area. I would take the yellow pages from the towns and cities in our coverage area, pick an address, and then try to find it. It helped me learn the area. I would stop at diners, newsstands and other gathering places to talk with the locals and learn about the area.