Newspapers have come to naught

The Tribune is in trouble.

The Courant is collapsing.

Well... that's a bit of an overstatement. But the following is probably concerning to anyone who believes in a free (and healthy) press:

An effort by Tribune Co. to "right-size" the nine newspapers in its struggling publishing division will mean significant reductions in the number of pages of news published by The Hartford Courant, and also cuts in personnel, Courant Publisher Stephen D. Carver said Thursday. (Courant, staff)

The article continued:

"You can eliminate a fair number of people while not eliminating a lot of content," said Randy Michaels, the chief operating officer.

Ha! I guess Mr. Michaels thinks his readers are "'weak-minded' sentient beings" who will agree that real journalists aren't the droids we're looking for.

Further on:

Tribune became a private company in a leveraged buyout in December that left it with $13 billion in debt. Its newspapers include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.... "There's going to be staff reductions," Carver said. "That's going to be part of this. ... The business model needs to be redone."

Well that's a surprise! A newspaper laying off more reporters. Shocking.

Seriously though, I can't say how serious a blow this is to journalism... at least in the short term. I understand that for years now, the overall pool of journalists has shrunk... yet newsworthy stories haven't decreased. So what happens?

The hard-hitting, investigative journalism gets hurt. Look no further than the NHRs recent "staff count reduction" at the Capitol. They let go their long-time Capitol reporter, Greg Hladky. And who will fill that void?

Well the reporters at the Courant are pretty good, but they can only do so much.

And don't forget, we live in Corrupticut Connecticut... a state where William Fritz, son of Deputy House Speaker Mary Fritz, can lack the required NICET qualifications for the I-84 inspection job, yet still be hired as the "chief inspector." And what exactly happened with AG Blumenthal's investigation??

(It's just another example of why the NYTimes correctly ridiculed our state for lacking the will to tackle real problems... and relying entirely on the feds in ever holding anyone accountable. And you wonder why state's attorneys have no power of subpoena??)

The last thing CT needs is fewer reporters.

Alas... there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

While traditional media is facing serious upheaval... and there's talk of the NHR going bankrupt (I think it recently delisted because it's trading price was below $1/share)... new media offers some hope for "keeping the bums honest."

And no... I'm not talking about the writing on the bathroom wall that my esteemed Council colleague "no longer" reads. Nope... while the blogosphere can (and likely must) provide real journalists with some leads... real journalists must forge onward. And the field of new media journalists and online newspapers does exist.

For example, since Chris Dodd was still in the race at the time, one of CTs online-only newspapers - the New Haven Independent - headed to New Hampshire in early January to cover him. (I know that because they simultaneously covered my favorite small government conservative Presidential candidate, Ron Paul.) And of course there's my favorite online news journal - CT News Junkie.

If online newspapers like the Independent and CT News Junkie can work (and I have no idea if they're profitable), then online news can work. And it's probably the only way that a vibrant media will continue to exist.

Tim White

p.s. I can't help but wonder if the Courant will lay off a bunch of reporters at the same time? I think it could be a great opportunity for them. If they banded together to immediately begin their own online-only newspaper, I'd certainly try to help them in their startup venture.