If you came here for fun today,
I am sorry but I am going to
disappoint you. This is a statement
of sorts, posting.. So if you want
to read fun stuff..come back Monday.
Maybe I will be more in the mood.
As you know I have posted a couple
of stories about newspapers lately.
The lack of substance. That they are
getting to be more social papers.
That I wanted facts. Like the old days
with the reporter hanging out at the
police station or what ever. The
investigating reporter..
But that seems like a lack in newspapers
of today. At least in our local area. Meaning
my local paper and now it could be true for
the regional paper.
I want a newspaper owner who wants the
real reason why newspaper came about.
Get the real story. the facts, and get the
facts straight. I don't want to read 2 day
old stories.
With that said, it saddens me to hear
that the regional newspaper, the last
chance we had at real news, has cut
their staff drastically. Mainly in the
Cda area. Which was where all of the
North Idaho news came from. The closest
to facts that we have had in a few years.
The local paper, be it here or Cda. is
own by one man who owns all of the
local papers, for all the towns, in North
Idaho. The facts are late, and loose.
Any editor they have is under the thumb
of the owner. The news as he would like
to see it. What they think will sell the papers.
So the editors have a very small area to jump
out and do what they went to school to learn
of journalism.
We lost the Spokesman's Review, here in
Sandpoint, years ago. We ended up being
a very small part of a section called The
Handle in their Cda office.. And even that
title changed. Having our news deluded more.
Giving away to at least a third of that section,
to other areas. You know when you ask a reporter
why she didn't report on the results of a small
town called Kootenai, just 3 miles outside of
Sandpoint, and she replies they don't go up
as far as Bonner's Ferry, which is 45 miles
North of us. You know you are in trouble.
We lost again.
So here is the new, smaller office in Cda,
and we wait to see what will happen. We
wait to see if the coverage of the Duncan
murder case, the P.A. office scandels, the
other stories of great interest... will still be
around with 4 out of 6 reporters gone. Very
good investigating reporters and photographers.
Some where over the years, I have read a quote
about newspapers and countries. That when the
country quiets a newspaper, the government goes
array. Because there is no check, double check
point. Wonder if that is true when states, and
regional areas lose their importance?
As far as the other papers... the local...the
ones that are all own by one man? Do we have
respect for the paper? No. We feel for the reporters,
we don't know why they don't get it right. We don't
know why some stories are left to gossip and
rumors. We don't know why the news is 2 days
old. We try to respect the paper.. God, do we
try. Will the tiny paper called River Journal pick
it up?
And as much as I love blogging, I can not take
them serious. As blogs are not always truthful.
They are only as good as the headmaster of the
blog and his commenters. And commenters are
a loose cannon. Very opinionated. And as a
blogger.. and when I get serious, such as this
post... it is all "In My Humble Opinion"... nothing
more. Like other bloggers.
Rainy Day Lift
4 hours ago
2 comments:
Cis - I believe at times you need reporters to investigate the paper - but who can do that?
Are newspapers immune from public examination? Do we not have the right to question their ethics, agenda, and procedure? From my experience I have seen little involvement by the community to do that - in fear of bad press. It is the media's power. We more or less suck up to them to gain favor while at the same time they DUMP their own kind.
Newspapers are nothing but a HUNCH. The reader will go from there if he/she are critical - and make the call - find the answers. The open records law now gives anyone the power to request and the internet gives us the venue to publish.
And, then of course you always need to know what's on sale and of course the police blotter is always good. Funny - but when I really looked at Taryn's blog header - it looked like she was wrapping her kids dirty diapers into the S-R. Fitting.
Joanne, the media is never the final word. But it is their respondible to give us the facts, not their spin on the news or facts. And our area has been slowly, losing the availablity of those about our area.
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