Nice piece, Joe. The paper where I started my career — the Des Moines Register — once boasted a Sunday circulation of 500,000 and reached almost every household in Iowa. Today, circulation is down over 90% and Gannett has whittled the staff to almost nothing. When I was there, we provided exhaustive coverage of state and local affairs and won more Pulitzers for National Reporting than any paper except The NY Times. There are no real replacements. The Fourth Estate looks like it is heading for the nursing home, along with us aging journalists who remember the golden days of print.
Bill, good to hear from you. I hope all is well (still in Arizona?).
Sadly, your comments are spot on. The only thing that encourages me is the growth of online alternative news sites, such as the nonprofits Flatwater Free Press and the Nebraska Examiner. Similar sites are popping up all across the country. Some local sites, such as the Boulder Reporting Lab, are doing similar work on a highly local level. These alternatives are not well-staffed and don't reach big audiences, such as the Register did, but they do often superb work and can have a big impact (the Examiner drove an unsuitable character out of the governor's race, for instance).
Change is difficult and may not always be good. But a lot of news is getting out there still.
Howard, I worked at The Home News before Gannett took it over. So I never labored for those folks. It was family-owned when I was there, a far healthier arrangement, though perhaps as doomed, nonetheless. Thanks for taking notice of this piece.
Nice piece, Joe. The paper where I started my career — the Des Moines Register — once boasted a Sunday circulation of 500,000 and reached almost every household in Iowa. Today, circulation is down over 90% and Gannett has whittled the staff to almost nothing. When I was there, we provided exhaustive coverage of state and local affairs and won more Pulitzers for National Reporting than any paper except The NY Times. There are no real replacements. The Fourth Estate looks like it is heading for the nursing home, along with us aging journalists who remember the golden days of print.
Bill, good to hear from you. I hope all is well (still in Arizona?).
Sadly, your comments are spot on. The only thing that encourages me is the growth of online alternative news sites, such as the nonprofits Flatwater Free Press and the Nebraska Examiner. Similar sites are popping up all across the country. Some local sites, such as the Boulder Reporting Lab, are doing similar work on a highly local level. These alternatives are not well-staffed and don't reach big audiences, such as the Register did, but they do often superb work and can have a big impact (the Examiner drove an unsuitable character out of the governor's race, for instance).
Change is difficult and may not always be good. But a lot of news is getting out there still.
JW
Another sad newspaper story. Good job. Didn't know you were a Gannetteer as well. The photo is great--kist like Hopper.
Howard, I worked at The Home News before Gannett took it over. So I never labored for those folks. It was family-owned when I was there, a far healthier arrangement, though perhaps as doomed, nonetheless. Thanks for taking notice of this piece.