By: E&P Staff In a lengthy piece posted at Nieman Watchdog today, Jim O'Shea, former ousted editor of the Los Angeles Times (and, before that, a longtimer at the Chicago Tribune), explores the future of newspapers and the goals and innovations of Sam Zell, his former boss.
He praises some of Zell's moves, questions others.
Excerpt: "The problem I have with Zell?s philosophy ? and the questions it raises about the kind of journalism we will have in print and digital newspapers ? is how that vision is applied in newsrooms he controls....Instead of scanning the events, policies, tragedies and joys of the world and giving readers a balanced. in-depth, report on what is important, significant and interesting, editors now place a premium on stories that will appeal to 'frenzied families' or 'carefree couples.' These are categories of readers that the paper?s marketing studies suggest are turned off by reports of war, corruption and complex issues like financial calamity...
"What the Tribune is doing is like trying to improve education by replacing the teachers and giving the students only the books they want to read. I doubt it will happen, although the company is now out in the Chicago market aggressively discounting the price of the paper, presumably so it can claim victory in the months ahead....
"I suspect that once again our future is at least in part in our past. To thrive and prosper, newspapers have to figure out how to deliver journalism that makes the public believe we once again are a public trust, something of value and something they won?t hesitate to pay for. Instead many papers today are trying to give readers entertainment, without the drama and without the laughs."
Link:
http://niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00309
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