This is the Sound of a Scared Newspaper
by Matt on Jun 23, 2010 in Industry, MY BEST POSTS
Confession: I love newspapers. We still subscribe to our local paper, and we’ve taught our kids to read the paper every morning before school. My post-college career began at a newspaper (the Los Angeles Daily News). I want newspapers to succeed because I think they have a critical role in society.
But this really makes me angry: The inside scoop: What’s new for newspapers?
It’s an editorial published today by my local paper, the Tri-City Herald, and written after a visit by the CEO of McClatchy Newspapers, the paper’s owners. The visit apparently was all about the future of newspapers and probably included some kind of pep talk for the troops. And the paper turned that talk into an editorial that compares online news, bloggers, and everyone else to the BP oil spill. Here’s some of what the Herald published:
The internet is great. But it’s a gusher — not unlike the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Once you get it started, there’s just no shutoff valve … and no filter … and no retraction button.
And once it’s on the web, those rumors become a lot more believable for a lot of people. “I read it on the internet” is the new excuse for just about everything.
But buyer beware. It is often impossible to know if anyone has verified the material that’s on the internet or whether anyone is held responsible for rumors, misinformation or outright libel.
That uncertainty is working in newspapers’ favor. People are turning to newspaper websites as a trusted source.
Certainly, we’re guilty of sins of commission and omission — but our mistakes are made in the context of striving to present a complete and accurate report of events.
We have plenty of detractors, and hear from them regularly, but newspaper websites dominate internet traffic in virtually every market — usually attracting 70 percent of the audience or better.
It makes sense. Aside from credibility issues, few bloggers have the resources that a newsroom commands. There are serious journalists in the blogosphere, of course, but without newspaper reporters gathering facts and publishing first-hand accounts, few bloggers would have anything to talk about.
For all the painful changes at the nation’s newspapers, no one else reports on the communities we serve with the same depth.
It takes a newsroom to cover the city council meetings, disseminate the police logs, follow the court case and file the open records requests.
That’s the sound of a scared newspaper. Let’s look at some of these claims:
1.) The Internet is like the BP oil spill. Oh, grow up, Herald. The problem is that your day-late print publication can’t keep up with the speed of news that the Internet facilitates. It makes you obsolete. And you, with your annual cutting of thousands of trees, are a lot closer to the environmental damage happening in the Gulf than any online news outlet.
2.) It’s impossible to verify material online. It’s no more difficult to verify online news than it is to verify what you publish. On our real estate blog, I just broke the news that Charter Cable has bought out the local cable company; big news in our little town (that you still haven’t reported). And to help people verify the news, I scanned and posted the complete letter we received from Charter. What tools do you give me in your articles to help verify them? But all news should be read with a critical eye, whether it comes from a newspaper or a local blog. In fact, I dare say that if someone were to verify the news you print … they’d go online to do it. Jealous, perhaps?
3.) Our mistakes are made in trying to present a complete and accurate report. Yes, like when you completely failed to report that Dino Rossi, a well-known Republican who twice this decade came close to winning the governor’s seat, had declared his candidacy for U.S. Senate. You didn’t publish a correction the following day (to my knowledge), but an online news site would’ve quite easily amended such a mistake by posting the news when a reader like me asked about it.
4.) Newspaper web sites dominate Internet traffic with 70 percent of the audience or better. And how am I supposed to verify a stat like that when you don’t bother sharing a source? Online bloggers would’ve linked to their source.
5.) Without newspapers, few bloggers would have anything to talk about. Oh, KMA Herald. Your reporters use the Internet for research as much as anyone. Here’s a study that says 89% of journalists use blogs for research. (Notice how I included a link there so you can verify the datum?) And if you’re complaining that local bloggers steal your stories, remember that goes both ways. (Another link for verification!)
6.) It takes a newsroom to [cover local news]. I don’t run a local news blog, but I know a lot of people who do. And they do it from their homes just fine, thank you. In Seattle, they do it so well that the Seattle Times has been partnering for about a year with several local news blogs to help the paper cover stories it couldn’t cover otherwise. There are similar newspaper-blog partnerships happening all over the country, at least in cities with forward-thinking papers.
So, really, Tri-City Herald … stop sounding so scared. Even though you cut staff in 2008 and then cut more staff and lowered wages in 2009, there’s still hope. Embrace the future. Online news, hyperlocal blogs, and citizen journalism is here to stay. You can’t wish it away via defensive editorials like this.
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17 Responses to “This is the Sound of a Scared Newspaper”
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Wow… you nailed it. That’s a pretty painful (not to mention pathetic) editorial. I’m also a big lover of newspapers, but wish they wouldn’t get so defensive when it comes to all-things-internet. The Herald is right that blogs tend to rely on newspapers for their material because they simply don’t have the resources to cover the day’s issues like a packed newsroom does.
But it’s naive to think that will always be the case. In the past year alone, for example, the political website Talking Points Memo has doubled the size of its reporting staff and continues to grow. There are handfuls of other online-only news sources that are only going to get more popular. as they contribute quality original reporting.
Another interesting development is the shift away from more independent bloggers toward institution-supported bloggers. The Washington Post has been particularly good at this. In the past few years, the newspaper has hired Greg Sargent (from TPM), Dave Weigel (from the Washington Independent), and Ezra Klein (from the American Prospect). I hope we’ll see more newspapers embracing exciting news sources like blogs instead of trying to say they’re irrelevant.
Thanks for the post.
Awesome post. Drives me crazy to see that all of these inside-the-box thinkers still have jobs, let alone such senior jobs. And are multi-multimillionaires, like this guy.
Journalism is absolutely critical to our society’s health–I couldn’t agree more. The lazy-ass brand of rehashed AP stories practiced by a lot of traditional newspapers these days is a far cry from the Press that our founding fathers held in such esteem, however.
How’s this for irony: I edited this article slightly and went to the Herald’s web site to submit it as a Letter to the Editor, because they “welcome opposing viewpoints.”
Only problem? Letters to the Editor are limited to 200 words! And I couldn’t make my points in that space.
Could you imagine if online news sites/blogs limited all comments to 200 words? Another reason online journalism is great: open discussion.
Deja vu!
http://www.blogherald.com/2009/02/13/how-not-to-respond-to-local-bloggers-if-youre-a-newspaper/
[...] The Tri-City Herald repeated this myth in an editorial Wednesday. And HyperlocalBlogger Matt McGee called the Herald on its shoddy journalism in a devastating post, This is the sound of a scared newspaper. [...]
Great post, Matt. I sing your praises (and encourage ASNE to bust this myth, instead of just myths about newspapers) in my blog: http://bit.ly/anPTDk
GREAT post. One thing that is great about neighborhood bloggers is you get the voice from the street. Many of the newspaper reporters have no connection to the communities they write. Neighborhood bloggers no only address “the story”, but can also give some of the underlying culture of the community that can’t be researched.
Love this!!! Thanks for telling it like it is.
Matt –
This whole thing turns out to be almost comical. I always find it interesting when someone tries to sound strong from a position of weakness.
Rather than fight reality good newspapers would be smart to learn how to incorporate new mediums effectively rather than just poo-poo them.
As for sources and newspapers? Why should I trust something in a printed word that has no bibliography or reference other than a columnists “say so” over anything else. Does anyone remember the scams run by reporters at such BIG time papers like the New York Times
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2003/may/12/pressandpublishing.usnews
(link for reference
)
Great job of taking a stance. One of the main troubles with the newspaper industry is that for years they were a one way channel which just put out content with no balance. It was pushed out to the reader and the reader was told to just believe it. That’s bunk. Times have changed and those in the newspaper industry who do not adjust will do what the free-market intends: shrivel up and fade away.
Great job!
Re irony: Well, you could just shoot them the link…
Great post. Love it.
Great Post! This is too true. Way to hit it on the nail.
Until newspapers find a way to justify all of their overhead, they will keep looking at fixing a broken revenue model rather than generating a new, sustainable model.
If, instead of buying up other newspapers after de-reg in 1996, there was diversification in media via merging/aquiring print and broadcast, these information outlets would be able to compete in the convergent scenario we are beginning to operate under. Papers bought other papers, adn broadcast mostly bought broadcast. Howz that workin’ out for ya?
Instead, we have newspaper people limiting online content to try and push people to their print products…and some are looking at micropayment models.
It’s a monkey-see, monkey-do industry where innovators that don’t bow and kiss the press’ footings get marginalized/launched.
Daily papers are dead….old info as soon as the plate is made. But there is still room for weekly publications, and money to be made.
Looks like you made one mistake in your post.
You said it’s not too late and there’s still hope for the Herald.
But if they’re still having the bloggers v. journalists debate in 2010, it’s definitely too late.
You sound like a failed journalist. Oh wait, you are …
And you sound like the Tri-City Herald employee that you are. Hi “Steve,” nice to meet you.
[...] This is the Sound of a Scared Newspaper : HyperlocalBlogger In which a blogger smacks down the contempt of newspapers for bloggers (tags: blogging journalism media newspapers smackdown) [...]
[...] }); }While my newspaper (and, no doubt, many others) is afraid of local blogs and citizen journalism, the Sacramento Bee is describing its partnership with dozens of local blogs a [...]