Ray Ring’s excellent piece on the shortcomings
of Western newspapers (HCN, 10/13/03: The Big Story Written Small)
brought back a lot of memories from my own daily reporting days.
His story, and the recent report from the Institutes for Journalism
and Natural Resources, reveal a dirty little secret: Too many of
our newspapers are skewering the communities they’re supposed
to serve.
Unfortunately, that giant sucking sound coming
from your “local” newspaper probably isn’t from reporters
scooping up news. In most cases, it’s the sound of
increasingly obscene profits leaving town, and hordes of seasoned
reporters and front-line editors heading out the door in
disgust.
And what do our communities get in return? A
pitifully disengaged citizenry left to run a “model” democracy on
coffee-shop rumors and splinters of boiled-out information, if
that.
Here in Montana, for example, no news organizations
regularly cover any of our state government agencies, and
“investigative” reporting usually means simply trolling a tad below
the surface. Reporters, with very few exceptions, are poorly
compensated, and must cover way too many beats. Managers balk at
trips out of town, and efforts to organize staff into unions are
looked upon as treason.
There is a shameful and unethical
lack of vigilance by the majority of today’s newspapers.
That’s largely because the traditional role of being the
public’s watchdog and protector is seen as too costly —
and boring — by those who equate running papers to any other
type of factory or retail center. Readers are also to blame,
because few demand that newspapers provide them with what they
actually need — complete and unvarnished information to help
them make crucial decisions about their lives.
Thanks also
for providing examples of reputable papers and publishers that
still maintain some level of journalistic integrity. They are few
and far between here in the West, even as we need them ever more.
Ron Selden
Helena, Montana
The writer
is a former Missoulian and Great Falls Tribune reporter who now
writes for a variety of publications.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Journalism’s dirty little secret.
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