With luck, Ken, companies like mine -- foothillsbusinessdaily.substack.com -- can continue to fill larger and larger holes. I’ll admit to having a very different view of both the history of the daily paper demise and what can be done moving forward. If you ever want to put me on stage with you, I will talk all about it.
I am interested. The Greenwich librarian is great at promoting these types of event. We just had one there with over 50 people in attendance so that might be a good place to consider.
While the news industry has serious problems (Is that an understatement?), I think you have to make lemonade out of your lemons (which this site is doing) and embrace the digital world- it's what we're stuck with. My Dad wrote for over 35 years- up until 9 months before he died at the age of 86 in 2021- for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's newspaper. That was its own kind of community paper, with quite a following, actually, in blue collar Philly. He would agree with you about the need for community papers, whether it is a geographic or affinity community. He thought the secular press would rarely cover what his paper did and when it did, it did so from a secular viewpoint, not the viewpoint of his community.
Anyway, the punchline is that the well-regarded Philadelphia Catholic Standard & Times was shut down over a decade ago by a not-so-well-regarded Archbishop. Jobs were lost, but a very good editor switched to a completely digital platform- CatholicPhilly. com which has survived to this day and flourishes. No, it's not the same as print, and many constituents have technology barriers, but it is still pushing out news no one else will. And my Dad kept banging out the stories for them when it transitioned; he was a prolific writer, google Lou Baldwin Catholic Philly if you're interested.
I think it is a challenge for community papers to survive- and one not to be minimized- and I think we need to mobilize the community to help keep them going, but there is a universe of people out there who still want information.
People often asked me what the future for newspapers looks like. I think it is very clear that it is a digital format. I’ve found with an iPad or tablet the experience can be just as rewarding with more photos and video to be had. Where newspapers are under appreciated is that it is a finite reading experience. When you get to the last page, you are done and you feel retry good about it. The digital experience can often go on as long as you want it to.
I think the interactive element of a digital format is a plus, too. Some- not all -readers like to weigh in on an issue/article and the online format lets them (us) do it. And while that is pretty cool in itself, sometimes- like with you- you communicate back with us. I was always a letter-to-the-editor girl in the days of paper papers, but this is more fun.
I don't know if you are aware of it, but the Mountain Eagle-Schoharie News is doing a great job covering local news in Schoharie, Delaware, Greene and Ulster Counties. Matt Avitabile is editor.
when don the con started saying 'fake news' the fake news = fox, of course was silent
but so was most all other media
I don't remember anyone pointing out that tRUMP was playing the 1984 card
And while people like #pos_tefanik were critical of don the con, she did not suggest he was destroying democracy and the free press
-----
Sadly, you can't be happy for 50 people if they are mostly seniors (a lot of gray hair) who are nostalgic for newspapers. The future --- if there is one --- will come from those not out of high school yet.
and from communities willing to pay for the voice of freedom.
===
What is sad about the loss of small-town papers, all media depends on small newspapers
So often --- even the biggest scandals --- are recorded by the small newspaper.
I honestly think this is because people will let reporters know about stories (as your essay indicates). To that I don't know of any stories that have been broken by ncpr, because those reporters are reactive and never figure out how to nurture stories.
The only reporter I have seen worth his salt in the past five years is the ade - Aaron Marbone --- he is good at covering a story and fact-checking, but I have not seen him have the ability to recruit sources...
I believe that is Aaron Cerbone of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.He has done a very good job with North Country politics and holding Stefanik accountable.
They should have thanked the journalist for being vigilant and then they should have said they would allow this one exception perhaps. Otherwise, why can’t all farmers do it?
"The Post-Star no longer covers town of Hartford meetings because it does not have the resources."
Every dollar the Post-Star (and this is true of any local newspapers) wastes on generic wire service stories about dogs jumping off a bridge in Scotland or German soccer standings is a dollar they do not have to spend on reporters for important local stories like this.
The discussion about format - digital vs physical - is a distraction. The more unique - read, LOCAL - content a local newspaper has, the more potential consumers will feel it worth their hard earned money. The local reporting the PS does is pretty solid; there's just less and less and increasingly less of it.
The decline in ad revenue is not the fault of the Post-Star or its upper management. It's an industry wide phenomenon. But how it spends those decreasing resources IS a choice. It seems their choice has been to cut local reporters who make the unique, high value content, instead of wire services that produce the generic, low value content. I realize the corporate overlords are the villains here - I have no doubt local editors want more local reporters, not fewer. But the current path those overlords have the Post-Star on is a death spiral. And our communities will be the poorer for it. Some already are.
Not counting obits and sports stats/standings, in today's paper, I counted 47 news and sports articles, only 9 of which were written by a local reporter.
Although less important than content, format does matter. I subscribe to the Lake George Mirror e-edition. Great journalism but terrible format. Just one long PDF, which is awful for a format with lots of big page jumps.
With luck, Ken, companies like mine -- foothillsbusinessdaily.substack.com -- can continue to fill larger and larger holes. I’ll admit to having a very different view of both the history of the daily paper demise and what can be done moving forward. If you ever want to put me on stage with you, I will talk all about it.
Sounds like a fun discussion to be had.
I’m sure we could find a time, if you’re interested.
I am interested. The Greenwich librarian is great at promoting these types of event. We just had one there with over 50 people in attendance so that might be a good place to consider.
The Hartford story is appalling on so many levels. Thank you for writing about it then and today.
While the news industry has serious problems (Is that an understatement?), I think you have to make lemonade out of your lemons (which this site is doing) and embrace the digital world- it's what we're stuck with. My Dad wrote for over 35 years- up until 9 months before he died at the age of 86 in 2021- for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's newspaper. That was its own kind of community paper, with quite a following, actually, in blue collar Philly. He would agree with you about the need for community papers, whether it is a geographic or affinity community. He thought the secular press would rarely cover what his paper did and when it did, it did so from a secular viewpoint, not the viewpoint of his community.
Anyway, the punchline is that the well-regarded Philadelphia Catholic Standard & Times was shut down over a decade ago by a not-so-well-regarded Archbishop. Jobs were lost, but a very good editor switched to a completely digital platform- CatholicPhilly. com which has survived to this day and flourishes. No, it's not the same as print, and many constituents have technology barriers, but it is still pushing out news no one else will. And my Dad kept banging out the stories for them when it transitioned; he was a prolific writer, google Lou Baldwin Catholic Philly if you're interested.
I think it is a challenge for community papers to survive- and one not to be minimized- and I think we need to mobilize the community to help keep them going, but there is a universe of people out there who still want information.
People often asked me what the future for newspapers looks like. I think it is very clear that it is a digital format. I’ve found with an iPad or tablet the experience can be just as rewarding with more photos and video to be had. Where newspapers are under appreciated is that it is a finite reading experience. When you get to the last page, you are done and you feel retry good about it. The digital experience can often go on as long as you want it to.
I think the interactive element of a digital format is a plus, too. Some- not all -readers like to weigh in on an issue/article and the online format lets them (us) do it. And while that is pretty cool in itself, sometimes- like with you- you communicate back with us. I was always a letter-to-the-editor girl in the days of paper papers, but this is more fun.
Obviously, when it is done in a civil tone it works so much better. So far that has been the case with The Front Page.
I don't know if you are aware of it, but the Mountain Eagle-Schoharie News is doing a great job covering local news in Schoharie, Delaware, Greene and Ulster Counties. Matt Avitabile is editor.
No I did not. I think you will see the rise of a lot of small newspaper outlets and I’m hoping they can make a difference.
when don the con started saying 'fake news' the fake news = fox, of course was silent
but so was most all other media
I don't remember anyone pointing out that tRUMP was playing the 1984 card
And while people like #pos_tefanik were critical of don the con, she did not suggest he was destroying democracy and the free press
-----
Sadly, you can't be happy for 50 people if they are mostly seniors (a lot of gray hair) who are nostalgic for newspapers. The future --- if there is one --- will come from those not out of high school yet.
and from communities willing to pay for the voice of freedom.
===
What is sad about the loss of small-town papers, all media depends on small newspapers
So often --- even the biggest scandals --- are recorded by the small newspaper.
I honestly think this is because people will let reporters know about stories (as your essay indicates). To that I don't know of any stories that have been broken by ncpr, because those reporters are reactive and never figure out how to nurture stories.
The only reporter I have seen worth his salt in the past five years is the ade - Aaron Marbone --- he is good at covering a story and fact-checking, but I have not seen him have the ability to recruit sources...
I believe that is Aaron Cerbone of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.He has done a very good job with North Country politics and holding Stefanik accountable.
he has changed his name. .. his last name to Marbone.
Thanks
He did it when he got married.. I don't know much about it, but his wife's last name was kind of similar to his.
The sense I get about the man is he is very upright in so many ways.
They should have thanked the journalist for being vigilant and then they should have said they would allow this one exception perhaps. Otherwise, why can’t all farmers do it?
"The Post-Star no longer covers town of Hartford meetings because it does not have the resources."
Every dollar the Post-Star (and this is true of any local newspapers) wastes on generic wire service stories about dogs jumping off a bridge in Scotland or German soccer standings is a dollar they do not have to spend on reporters for important local stories like this.
The discussion about format - digital vs physical - is a distraction. The more unique - read, LOCAL - content a local newspaper has, the more potential consumers will feel it worth their hard earned money. The local reporting the PS does is pretty solid; there's just less and less and increasingly less of it.
The decline in ad revenue is not the fault of the Post-Star or its upper management. It's an industry wide phenomenon. But how it spends those decreasing resources IS a choice. It seems their choice has been to cut local reporters who make the unique, high value content, instead of wire services that produce the generic, low value content. I realize the corporate overlords are the villains here - I have no doubt local editors want more local reporters, not fewer. But the current path those overlords have the Post-Star on is a death spiral. And our communities will be the poorer for it. Some already are.
Not counting obits and sports stats/standings, in today's paper, I counted 47 news and sports articles, only 9 of which were written by a local reporter.
That is the opposite of what it used to be.
Although less important than content, format does matter. I subscribe to the Lake George Mirror e-edition. Great journalism but terrible format. Just one long PDF, which is awful for a format with lots of big page jumps.
Good point. Sites where pop up ads are constantly harassing you can be a problem as well.
Let's be real -- 95% of that audience in Greenwich showed up because they saw a notice for it in a PRINT newspaper.