|
12-20-2008, 10:41 PM | |
I'll be back.
Join Date: Nov 2002
Casino cash: $3200478
|
WHITLOCK - Newspapers are key to democracy
Run for mayor, yo!
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...ry/946541.html People keep asking me what’s next now that King Carl Peterson has been stripped of his throne. The answer is simple. You don’t understand this column if you believe the hunt for Peterson drove the content here. King Carl was a handy foil, not the focus. His demise, however, has caused me to reflect about the industry I love. Somewhere along my sophomore year of college, being a big-city newspaper columnist became my singular, professional obsession, replacing my childhood fantasy of playing in the National Football League. My teammates would trace the career change to the spot on the bench my already-ample butt warmed along the sideline my re-redshirt year. They’re probably right. The humiliation of that second season sparked an intellectual awakening and evolution. It caused me to define myself beyond football. I needed an identity. Journalist/columnist/entertainer/provocateur fit my personality rather nicely. They were the titles/characteristics that made my writing hero, Mike Royko, the best newspaper columnist of all time. Perhaps it’s an embarrassing admission revealing the immaturity of my personal life, but I must admit I’ve known no greater passion than my infatuation with being a relevant newspaper columnist. It consumes me. And now I’m scared. The conventional wisdom is that newspapers are dying. We’re slashing employees, young people allegedly ignore us and what we report and say somehow matters less. A major newspaper in New York recently eliminated the sports columnist position. The two newspapers in Detroit announced last week they’re soon only going to offer home delivery three days a week. We’re all hurting in this economy. The pain we feel at The Star when our valued colleagues are let go is no different from the pain you feel when a friend or loved one is laid off at Sprint, Hallmark or Ford. But I want you to consider something when you think about the future of newspapers: You can’t have a democracy without us. If newspapers are dying, so is our system of government. That is not written as a plea to buy our product. It’s written as a plea for you to understand you have a stake in the newspaper industry. It’s written as a plea for you to value and seek good, reliable, challenging and thought-provoking information. If you do those things, newspapers will survive the troubled economy and rebound with a product that makes sense in the instant-information age. Our democracy depends on it. That probably sounds ridiculously self-important coming from a sportswriter. The conceit does not diminish the truthfulness. Let me explain with a short story. On the same day that Chiefs owner Clark Hunt relieved Peterson of his responsibilities as president/CEO/general manager, my alma mater, Ball State, officially announced that its football coach, Brady Hoke, had accepted a job at San Diego State. Y’all know I love Ball State. I was insanely distracted on Monday when Peterson was chopped. My mother, who lives in Indianapolis, called me to gossip about the news. She’d heard on her television evening newscast that Hoke left Ball State because the Aztecs offered $300,000 more than BSU. She repeated this bit of information to me, and I chuckled in a twist of amusement and disbelief. Since late September, I had worked feverishly trying to get the Ball State administration, Indiana print and broadcast media and the school’s boosters to grasp that Hoke would have no choice but to leave if the school failed to invest in his assistant-coaching staff and coaching facilities. I pegged my Cardinals as BCS-bowl threats during the offseason and realized that the school’s non-support of the program the previous five years would make Hoke, a BSU alumnus, tempted to leave. The school’s president and athletic director — the Mickey and Mouse of Division I athletics — baited Hoke to depart by offering him a new contract that included no improvements for his assistants. It was an offer he had to refuse, and they knew it. After a 12-1 season that saw the Cardinals ranked in the top 25 most of the year, Hoke’s best assistants were candidates for other jobs. Already some of the lowest-paid assistants in their conference, they were not inclined to stick around for no new money. Hoke’s foundation at Ball State would be undermined. He had to go. You can only find that kind of context in properly staffed, well-funded newspapers committed to journalism. We’re losing that. The Indianapolis newspaper no longer has a reporter to cover Ball State. The newspaper in Muncie, where BSU is located, has no competition and little incentive to dig for news. The real story that precipitated Hoke’s departure was never told. It’s not good that we have fewer journalists scratching for the truth. We can’t govern fairly without substantive information. Never give up on newspapers. We’re more worthy of a bailout than the jokers on Wall Street. |
Posts: 285,978
|
12-20-2008, 11:37 PM | #31 |
I'm with the banned.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Casino cash: $5658955
|
|
Posts: 28,113
|
12-20-2008, 11:40 PM | #32 | |
www.nfl-forecast.com
Join Date: Sep 2000
Casino cash: $1321769
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 45,661
|
12-20-2008, 11:41 PM | #33 |
Supporter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hollywood, CA
Casino cash: $10053648
|
|
Posts: 88,960
|
12-20-2008, 11:42 PM | #34 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hollywood, CA
Casino cash: $10053648
|
Quote:
I agree, USA Today isn't what it was under Ted Turner but it used to be a great newspaper, stocked with great information. |
|
Posts: 88,960
|
12-20-2008, 11:43 PM | #35 |
Has a particular set of skills
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: On the water
Casino cash: $1578962
VARSITY
|
We get more information about the Chiefs from this site than a Teicher column. Thats their issue. The "real" writerslike JOPO will survive.
The "journalist" is on life support. He/she will be replaced by something else on the internet still to be decided. A uber blogger or something thats trusted somehow.
__________________
Mind you own damn business |
Posts: 79,885
|
12-20-2008, 11:43 PM | #36 | |
www.nfl-forecast.com
Join Date: Sep 2000
Casino cash: $1321769
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 45,661
|
12-20-2008, 11:43 PM | #37 |
I'm with the banned.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Casino cash: $5658955
|
|
Posts: 28,113
|
12-20-2008, 11:44 PM | #38 | |
I'm with the banned.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Casino cash: $5658955
|
Quote:
The whole business model will have to be reinvented or it will die. |
|
Posts: 28,113
|
12-20-2008, 11:46 PM | #39 | |
I'll be back.
Join Date: Nov 2002
Casino cash: $3200478
|
Quote:
I usually don't read Teicher's stuff unless it's a feature. I don't know when teams started making press conference transcripts and video recaps available freely to the public but it hurt newspapers.
__________________
Chiefs game films |
|
Posts: 285,978
|
12-20-2008, 11:47 PM | #40 | |
www.nfl-forecast.com
Join Date: Sep 2000
Casino cash: $1321769
|
Quote:
USA Today has always had the format of very short stories. Only 4 stories per day are allowed to make you turn the page. Two of those 4 were on the Sports page or the Entertainment section. |
|
Posts: 45,661
|
12-20-2008, 11:49 PM | #41 |
Supporter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hollywood, CA
Casino cash: $10053648
|
|
Posts: 88,960
|
12-20-2008, 11:50 PM | #42 |
Most Valuable Poster
Join Date: Oct 2003
Casino cash: $9320002
|
newspapers need to adapt to the online world more effectively. I have some ideas under wraps that will make moving forward so they can make continued revenue.
Look at HuffingtonPost... it has MILLIONS of subscribers, and it is an online issue only. In times of quick technological advancements... your business needs to be nimble and aware. |
Posts: 36,708
|
12-20-2008, 11:51 PM | #43 |
www.nfl-forecast.com
Join Date: Sep 2000
Casino cash: $1321769
|
Yeah, you're right. You've obviously given this more thought than I have. How will we support journalists in the future? The internet and media by the people for the people is all well and good, but we need an equivalent of the traditional media to set the direction, ask the tough questions at the press conferences, and do the investigative leg work. Any ideas?
|
Posts: 45,661
|
12-20-2008, 11:54 PM | #44 | |
I'm with the banned.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Casino cash: $5658955
|
Quote:
You could be a wealthy guy. |
|
Posts: 28,113
|
12-20-2008, 11:55 PM | #45 |
the great pumpkin
Join Date: Jul 2002
Casino cash: $9789294
|
The LA Times had layoffs earlier this year and its parent company (Tribune Co.) has declared bankruptcy. The NY Times is mortgaging its building to cover costs and its stock has fallen 50% this year.
|
Posts: 805
|
|
|