Conventional wisdown says that newspapers as institutions are dying. The pundits say our readers are old, our style stodgy, our products too dull and our role unclear at best as new tools for communication continue sprouting, from blogs to Facebook to Flickr to youTube.
My own paper is hardly immune to the trends that are troubling the entire industry. Readers everywhere are increasingly turning to the web, leaving circulation of print editions to dwindle. And, even worse, there are simply fewer readers as people struggle with long hours at work and feel so disconnected from their community that the local paper is almost foreign. Our oldest readers are dying off faster than younger ones replace them. It's not hard to see where that ends.
So those of us who love journalism are searching for ways to reverse the trend, not just to save our livelihoods (though that's a good reason in itself) but because we're convinced that reporters and editors play a crucial role in a free society.
I'm curious to know what those of you who have given it any thought -- and I know there are many who have -- would do differently.
For myself, I've always thought the primary purpose of a newspaper should be to provide a place for the community to talk to itself, but they must also delve deeply into issues that matter, let people laugh together at dopey leaders, showcase injustice and point the way to a brighter future for all of us. They shouldn't take sides, but they should care what happens. I know I do.
But how do we do that in an interactive age, when a reporter's marching orders come not just from an editor, or the normal march of events, but also from a clamoring public that can quickly let you know when a story is resonating with people? I'm genuinely curious.
Those of you reading this blog haven't given up on news. So, tell me, how would you do things ?
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
22 comments:
I personally believe it is very important to write both sides. For instance, let's take politics. If you write something about one candidate, something should also be written about the opposing candidate and not a total innudation of one candidate especially if the article gives a perception of impropriety. Too often one side is bombarded and the other side is left untouched.
The other problem I have is with "anonymous letters" to the Press that are then printed. Anonymous letters should NEVER be printed. How can you verify what was written is true? How can you verify that the person writing it doesn't have a hidden agenda? There is no way of verifying what is said in an anonymous letter, and, in my view, is not journalism. It is simply gossip. The veracity of any anonymous statement cannot be corrobrated and should therefore be thrown in the trash.
Its evolution Steve you can not stop it but you can take advantage of it by being part of it.
I have never known the Press to print an anonymous letter.
The paper has that "Sound-off" feature with words taken from anonymous phone calls, but that's really not much different than the anonymous comments on here.
I know that in all my years as a journalist, I have never printed an anonymous letter so I'm unclear just what you're talking about.
I understand that "bad news",flashy headlines sell newspapers, but I for one would like our "hometown" newspaper to devote more space to some of the more positive things being done by many of our citizens,human interest stories if you will.I believe readers grow weary of the "gloom and doom" on the front page nearly every day.It spins our city in a pretty negative light at times.I for one KNOW there is a lot of GOOD being done in Bristol,we just don't seem to read about it much.
I would make sure that the good reporters, like you, Steve, were making a decent living. I would add to the news coverage, not decrease it, and I would not shrink the print in the paper!
Obviously, I would change the Bristol Press by firing Steve Collins.
Leave out other state opinions in the letter section - who cares!
My wife and I used to subscribe to the Bristol Press, but found that the Courant covered Bristol as well as the Press and the stories were better edited. (No offense Steve, but every writer needs an editor)
This blog does a great job keeping up with local news without having to sift through the AP news and the the motor vehicle accident of the day. That is what the Press should do too, focus on local coverage that people can't get from other sources, provide context for news and commentary on items of state and local interest.
On a side note, you don't have to always have to write both sides of an issue. I'm tired of news stories about science that feel the need to find someone with an opposing viewpoint. I'm sure there are folks who dispute heliocentricity, but they don't need to be quoted in the newspaper.
tom b,
Yeah, editors can be a good thing (but don't let that get back to anyone, please).
And I totally agree with you about science coverage. I have never understood why anyone thinks we need to balance the best that science can offer with some alternative take that the scientifically illiterate can seize on. That makes no sense at all.
First and foremost, make the Bristol Press about Bristol again. Over the past few years we are seeing less and less Bristol oriented news. What you get is around 3-4 pages of Bristol oriented news at the beginning of the paper and then 2-3 pages of local sports at the end of the paper. The rest is all canned national news. There are hardly any local editorials or letters to the editor printed anymore and the sound off section needs to go unless people leave their names.
If the Bristol Press wants to be about Bristol then it has to be about Bristol.
I for one believe the sound-off area should be improved to make it more accessible to the public . Having an anonymous place to express your views is important to the little people that don't have the protection from reprisals . btw .... I don't recall ANY sound-off messages that soiled anyones reputation .
Sound off is the only sure way to allow FREEDOM OF SPEECH w/o intimidation .
on a final note ..... you might want to change the name to ESPN considering all the sports coverage . THAT is a total waste .
Steve-
I think the decline of newspaper readers speaks to the greater issue of our cultural decline. The reality is that people just don't give a damn anymore.
Lets look at empty chambers for council meetings, parties struggling to get members to join their Town Committees, or the mayor basically taking out a full page ad to solicit volunteers for city boards, and then we begin to see why people don't read the paper... it's because they don't do anything else, either.
The internet is certianly changing things - hey, why leave work early to get to a wake from 5-7 when you can just sign the on-line condolence book? Our TV news (including FOX) has become over-sexed, look at the necklines and hemlines on the female anchors, in response to a shortned attention span.
My generation, which is hardly the greatest, is more concerned about sleeping as late as possible and getting to the office before 9:05AM. I don't wake up, slide into my slippers and go downstairs to find my bride ensuring that my coffee is just how I like it.
If people started caring about our community again, you and your lovely wife would be able to write those stories that Tim wants so badly. I'm sure more people read the news in Avon, or in Central Pennsylvania, or out in the heartland, because they still have values. They still care. They still believe that they matter, and that they have a voice.
Oh yeah, and they can still read - even in English.
1) The picture and profile of a "local person" should feature a Bristol (or greater Bristol) person rather than someone in the areas surrounding other papers owned by the NH Register.
2)Get rid of the "sound off", it brings the paper down.
3) Highlight the letters to the editor more. They seem buried.
4) Stop the headlines in the form of a question. It is weak and amateurish.
5) I agree that more positive stories about all the groups, churches and things like that around Bristol would be better.
How about real police coverage instead of all that suck up crap about who's getting officer of the month? It's true that the Courant offers more important news about the BPD than the Press does, but as far as other Bristol news, the Press is eating the Courant's lunch.
Tell Amy that constantly using compound sentences does not make a writer look smart, it just confuses the readers.
Tell Amy to follow up on her stories. If she tells the reader that another arrest is imminent, follow-up, even if only to state the investigation is ongoing. If she reports a pedestrian was killed, don’t wait a week to follow-up with the details.
Allow other community organizations to write columns like the one the Chamber of Commerce puts out. I am interested in what the Rotary Club, the Bristol Symphony, the Historical Society and many other groups might want to say.
I realize that editing might be necessary but it gets out more news with fewer (or the same number of) reporters and it increases the Bristol content.
Give the consumer what they want in a "local" paper. If it covers them or their friends they will read it. The real question is how does the paper stay relevent as an advertising media so they can sell ads to make money. With so many competitors for ad dollars the paper has to become more relevent in their market.
The Editorial Page(s) of the BRISTOL PRESS need some work. I am not interested nor do I think that a writer from the New Haven Journal has anything to offer to this town's paper.
I prefer to know the opinions of the employees of the BRISTOL PRESS on local, state and national issues. I would like to know the names of the local editorial board, even if it's one person. I would hope that several individuals make up the board and write daily editorials.
I prefer letters to the editor that agree or dispute the editorial. I don't like letter writers agreeing with or disputing other letter writers. That venue is for blogs or call the person on the telephone. I don't need to be entertained in that manner and frankly, for me, it's a waste of precious ink.
You can also lose "Sound Off" on page 2. I assume these are typed word for word from the caller. Some are rather frightening. Many don't have a coherent thought, are grammatically incorrect and to be honest, a newspaper's worth is calculated by its content. I may not agree with all of the opinions published on the editorial pages of the NEW YORK TIMES, but I understand them.
Also, the PRESS' Editorial Board should invite other individuals to write weekly op-eds on local, state or national issues. The letters to the editor would be interesting.
I would also like to see a weekly column by one of your staff writers that relates to politics or other common interests, events, personalities that are germane to Bristol.
Finally, there are dozens if not hundreds of individuals, young and old alike that want to volunteer for this community. They need to know who, where, when, why and what person to contact. I suggest a separate page in the PRESS that lists various needs of the group sponsoring the event.
As an example, I know that church X serves meals to the needy on X day at X time, but I have no idea if they need people to help serve, cook, wash dishes, etc.
Thanks for the opportunity to offer my thought and suggestions.
Does the Chamber of Commerce pay to have Leone's propaganda published in the Press?
a newspaper's worth is calculated by its content. -4:08-
Sunday January 6 , 2008 Parade Section .....
Is Benazir Bhutto America's best hope against al-Queda ?
' I Am What The Terrorists Most Fear '
An interview from Pakistan by Gail Sheehy
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Didn't anyone notice that she was assassinated a week before ????
Parade is a national weekly that's printed well in advance of being inserted in Sunday papers across America. Of course people knew it was outdated by events, but the only choice left was either to scrap it or use it. I would guess just about every paper used it with some kind of note elsewhere lamenting Bhutto's death had made the interview's content almost ironic.
Hey STeve, why don't you tell the people at the Press to get their 10 day old headlines off the local news section of yahoo. I'm tired of looking at them. It's supposed to be for recent news.
If they are going to use technology the least they can do is keep up with it.
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