Journalists aren’t your enemy — they might be your last resort. Imagine you’ve been wronged. Someone, or some faceless corporation or other spineless institution, has caused you physical, emotional, or financial injury. […]
Gannett adopts the blue dot, emblematic of market-driven thinking, at its newspapers
Oh, my. Look at the dot. It’s blue. It’s representative of “one unified network,” says the chief marketing officer of Gannett, owner of the USA Today Network. The blue dot — and […]
A tale of newspapers’ financial collapse in three charts …
Three charts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, two covering about 15 years, bluntly demonstrate the swift collapse of the centuries-old newspaper industry business model. They also herald the rise of an […]
The ‘enemy of the American People’ doesn’t work at your local newspaper
It engenders anger to know the president of the United States says that what I did for a living for 20 years — and what I’ve spent 25 years teaching — represents […]
State of the news biz in 2016? Oh, my god … it’s really bad.
Newsies dread this time of year. It’s when the Pew Research Center releases its annual State of the Media report. And the findings, for print newsies, are bad, bad, bad. Ad revenue […]
Newspapers’ big problem: failure to distinguish meaningful from meaningless
Warren Buffett, the newspaper-loving Oracle of Omaha, isn’t loving newspapers quite as much these days. Speaking of the industry’s attempts to create a viable business plan, he told USA Today’s Rem Rieder, […]
Newspapers founder in habit-driven cultures — so the habits need changing
One morning a few weeks ago, I sat at the end of the counter in my favorite diner, Robbins Nest. Lisa brought tea, Jessica asked, “The usual?” and owner Crystal badgered chef […]
Local newspapers: fewer reporters = less content = declining revenue
Corporate owners treat news as “product.” As a result, the industry is on life support. by Patrick Vecchio I can’t remember how young I was when I fell in love with my […]
Pew study: Newspapers’ hard times continue
Shocked! Shocked we should be! But the latest report on the State of the Media by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism comes as no surprise. The bottom line: […]
The Des Moines Register's presidential endorsement is short-sighted and shallow; Iowa deserves better journalism
by Andrea Frantz My husband and I, Iowa natives both, recently returned to our home state after 14 years in Pennsylvania. There were many things to look forward to as we anticipated […]