Just the Facts
One of the first magazines I ever subscribed to was Harpers. Each month, when the magazine showed up in my mailbox, I eagerly flipped to the “Harper’s Index,” where the editors listed arcane, odd and ordinary facts to surprise, unsettle or alarm the reader.
This week, the magazine Mother Jones published a similar index on the state of journalism. In “Black and White and Dead All Over,” Senior Editor Dave Gilson provides a long list of troubling journalism statistics. Here is a quick sampling:
- In 2006, 62 percent of all reporters worked for newspapers.
- Nearly one in five newspaper journalists has lost his or her job since 2001.
- In the first five months of 2009, 100 newspapers shut down and more than 9,000 newspaper jobs were lost.
- Since 1985, the number of newspapers with Washington bureaus has dropped by more than 50 percent..
- 72 percent fewer newspapers and wire services cover Congress today than in the mid-1980s.
- One-third fewer newspaper reporters cover state capitols today than in 2003.
- An economist found that after the Cincinnati Post closed in 2007, fewer people in the area voted, fewer candidates ran for office, and incumbents were more likely to be reelected.
- Before the 2006 elections, 30-minute local TV newscasts spent less than two minutes on election coverage. They spent seven minutes on sports and weather.
- Between 2007 and 2008, coverage of the Iraq war dropped by 95 percent on cable news, 91 percent on network news, and 65 percent in newspapers.
The stats do a good job of illustrating the vital civic role journalists play, and they highlight the need to find new ways of supporting and fostering vibrant reporting in our communities, statehouses and internationally.
However, Gilson’s index perpetuates the notion that the struggles facing journalism are primarily a function of economics. This hides the important role public policy has played in creating the media system we now have. How many jobs have been lost to media consolidation ushered in by relaxed ownership regulations? How many diverse voices were pushed off the air after Congress eliminated the Minority Tax Certificate program? How many more local journalists could be put to work if Congress passed the Local Community Radio Act? I’d like to see this index.
We need to put these facts in context and connect the dots so we can get to the root of the journalism crisis and begin fighting for structural solutions.
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Free Press does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media and universal access to communications.
Comments:
Change the Channels
Check out the interactive map to see consolidating newsrooms near you.
Internet does not replace
Internet Does Not Replace Accountability or Sense of Community of a Newspaper
Now that I got my lengthy "Headline" written, I think it helps to illustrate that speedy short cuts don't always equate good communication or quality journalism.
Of course the internet has a place, BUT it is not able to Take the Place of a responsible, accountable, "free" press.
Newspapers have the advantage (and disadvantage) of being part of a community, reporting on that community, and having some time to sort through what is newsworthy and what isn't. Newspapers also have the advantage of being read instead of "watched".
For every "story" there will be as many perspectives as there were witnesses. However reporters are supposed to follow certain ethical and practical guidelines - 3 reliable sources - present both sides of an issue - do not become the story or part of the story - as far as is possible, be an unbiased reporter - check the facts - educate yourself on the issues - know the law - don't exploit people or situations - who, what, where, when & WHY?
While there are many wonderful writers and journalists on the internet, what is missing is a meaningful community filter based on a sense of place and the accountability that goes along with that.
Fact & figures can be manipulated to prove just about anything, photos and video can be edited to show just about anything, and writers can write stories to make people believe just about anything. Having journalism on the ethernet only produces a sense of information overload and confusion. We literally don't know which way is up.
For niche journalism the Internet is a fine place to go. But for an inclusive sense of community and public weighing of our cultural values, the internet does not have the requisite requirements - mainly accountability, and inclusive access.
News Death
I'm not surprised at what is happening. I get one local paper and one from a nearby city. Although both cost the same, my local paper is paltry. It barely covers national news, rarely covers international news, and it's proud to be a Republican slanted rag. Which, of course, angers me because I'm more liberal in my views. They rarely print my letters and have been known to misconstrue my meaning. GRRR... and what bothers me above all else, if they make as much money as the city paper, why can't they expand their coverage? Where is that money?
One other thing about the media that bothers me...not papers, but I'm just sounding off...why are the Cable new shows spending so much time on the same story? I like MSNBC, but often times I read through half the show because I just heard it. Variety people! Lack of it is strangling our access to knowledge!