Sure, the big metros may have lost touch with the cities they serve. To many reporters at metros, reporting the news is a JOB, not a passion. Reporters and editors at metros have become jaded; complaining about covering the city council meeting and whining when they have to write a story each day.
But, in small markets, the reporters ARE the community. They’re known on a first-name basis. They have lunch in the same sandwich shop or burger joint as the Mayor and the city’s movers and shakers.
They still love what they do, and when they’re not working their beat, they disappear into the wood work and remain anonymous. They are little league coaches; volunteer firemen and overall good people.
Sure, for the most part, they can’t dress worth a darn, but being a fashionista was never in their job description. Hell, they probably don’t know what their job description looks like. And they are more worried about getting the facts right than matching the right color tie and shirt.
They love what they do, and are proud to say the work for the local paper.
Metro reporters are different. They become jaded. They seem, by and large, locked into "it's not my job," or "I have to write three stories this week??" They, quite frankly, have lost touch with their craft.
I know a former editor who resigned because their paper was launching a new product and they were asked to help edit the copy. I’m leaving gender out of this to protect the not-so-innocent. While this person’s normal routine was in by 10, out by 4 – they felt overworked and underpaid.
So, when the new product was on the drawing board, this editor was a natural choice. But, they balked and left the industry completely rather than have to add a few hours to their work week.
While it’s true we all work a lot, at one time we all would have worked 80 hours to get the story out and make a difference in the community. When I was in college, a professor told us "we’d never get rich in journalism, but we’d make a difference." Truer words have never been spoken.
I was looking at one market recently and saw where a critic (yes, they still have those) had a byline in the local news section. A victim of downsizing, I’m sure, where a critic is now a spot news reporter. I recall wondering how long it had been since this critic had to work a weekend other than covering a concert.
The story was so-so, about an early morning shooting. It was pretty obvious that spot news reporting was not this guy’s specialty, but hey, at least he still had a job. And for that, perhaps he’s thankful.
After 2009’s massive media job shedding, where some 40,000 jobs were lost, I’m sure he’s happy to still have a paycheck. But, that’s all it is to him. A paycheck. No passion. No joy. No thinking that what he was doing was bigger than himself or the masthead.
As I read about the ongoing troubles with various media companies, including another Chapter 11 filing, I wonder if we’ve seen the bottom yet. Somehow, I don’t believe we have.
Because we as an industry have lost touch with our readers. Current and future.
Someone I know at a large media company is revamping some product offerings and sent an e-mail asking if FaceBook charged a recurring monthly usage fee.
That about sums up what’s wrong with some aspects of our business – the people in charge have truly lost touch with what is going on around them. And while I will not profess to be a FaceBook or Twitter junkie, at least I know how to use these tools and more importantly, what social networking is.
One day, after the Internet fails completely, people are going to realize that newspapers are still really valuable. But the current readers are going to have to be won back with larger newspapers (not products) and more generous newsholes. While newsprint is expensive, people pay good money for the newspaper and they want value for their money. Not skimpy little things on Monday and Tuesday, but something they can read on the train or over morning coffee.
Just ask the people in smalltown America. They’ll tell you. They galvanize around the editorial page. They hate the paper. They love the paper. And they’ll tell you straight up what they think of think of the editorial board. Yep, it’s the value of the printed word.
I write a lot about small communities, because that’s what I mostly see these days. I see how the journalists care about their craft in markets where a good press run is 35,000 copies. I see editors huddled over a reporter’s shoulder suggesting the perfect wording for a story.
That’s something you just don’t see at metro.
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