The beginning of the end?
Word that Kansas City Star parent McClatchy declared bankruptcy didn’t exactly come as a surprise. It was almost more of a surprise that it took this long.
Which in some ways is sad.
Does it mean the end of local news as predicted by New York Times editor Dean Baquet?
No way.
Long as there’s a demand for news, information and opinion, someone will find a way to make money providing it.
That said, the last thing that needs to happen is for taxpayers to rescue news organizations like McClatchy and the Star – companies that have demonstrated for a dozen years they’re incapable of running a sustainable business.
At some point, failed businesses like the Star need to be allowed to die, to make way for a new generation of news gatherers.
That’s the law of the jungle, guys.
Which is what the most successful businessman in America – Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet – determined when he threw in the towel recently on 31 newspapers and more than 49 weeklies, including his beloved hometown paper, the Omaha World Herald.
Not a good sign for the biz and yet…
In some ways it may be a beacon of better news days ahead.
Zieman and the Watson’s Girl
Because once asleep-at-the-wheel execs like the ones at McClatchy take their richly deserved dirt naps, clueless news execs like Mark Zieman and Mike Fannin will no longer be rewarded for their failed attempts at running the Star .
That’s pretty much the only apparent way there will ever be sorely-needed changes in the current approach to local news gathering.
And that’s basically the law of the corporate jungle…a law that for some reason has been held in abeyance for far too long.
Fannin mug shot
Why should taxpayers reward companies for putting out ultra-biased news reporting while running unsuccessful businesses?
It’s time to make way for an all-new generation of journalists and journalism.
Out with the old, in with the new, and on with the show.
“In some ways it may be a beacon of better news days ahead.”
NOT for print journalism.
“Why should taxpayers reward companies for putting out ultra-biased news reporting while running unsuccessful businesses?”
They should NOT.
You’re right, probably not for print journalism as we know it…
But likely for new forms of news organization that are maybe leaner, more aggressive and POSSIBLY less obviously biased.
As for print, remember when I interviewed former Star editor and publisher Art brisbane 10 or so years back?
He predicted then that the Star would go to one big Sunday issue (where what’s left of the money is) and then have a smaller, tabloid size print edition of maybe 20,000 circulation that came out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The most successful businessperson in America – in the world – is Jeff Bezos who owns and stands by The Washington Post, despite taking a lot of heat from the least successful businessman currently occupying the White House.
And Rupert Murdoch seems to keep his papers running, from The Wall Street Journal to tabs like The New York Post as well as papers in England and Australia. Love him or hate him, he still possesses a passion for print.
Shame on Buffet for dumping the Omaha paper. What we need here is the billionaire owner of Garmin to at least lay down some seed money for a local paper, whether it’s The Star or called something else. Newspapers are a public trust and it’s time for the ultra-wealthy to step up.
BTW, “bias” is in the eye of the reader.
Good points, Rik…
Although I think even the most generous beholders would likely concede that there’s more bia in news today than in the past several dozen years. Not that long ago, papers like the Star actually tried to conceal it and/or rise above it.
People like Jim Fitzpatrick were deeply- albeit secretly involved in behind the scene political activities – but at least it was frowned on and strongly discouraged.
I remember seeing him at an election night victory party a couple years prior to his retirement and being tempted to turn him in. I was there, too – but working as a reporter, not a fan boy.
Fitz is fully out these days and amuses himself by contributing money and writing attaboy columns about questionable characters like Adam Schiff.
And he’s fully entitled to now because he’s no longer a journalist.
My small claim to fame from my days at 18th and Grand was that nobody really fully knew where I stood.
Most reporters assumed I was a die hard Republican and didn’t know that I voted for Ross Perot, Ralph Nader and Obama twice. Never gave an dough though and never went to an election night celebration party as a disciple.
I am just shocked that RIK wants a rich billionaire to pay for a Progressive newspaper to be delivered to his door.
Do detect a net of sarcasm?
What a juvenile cheap shot.
I posted that I wanted seed money to be provided to get something out there. If it goes well, he’ll want to bring in other investors. Ideally, in time it would go public and assemble a Board of Directors.
Billionaires make a difference. That may not be the outcome you or I desire, but in these times it’s what there.
Take your sanctimonious takes somewhere else.
Elsewhere?
There already is a new generation of journalists and journalism. It’s the “faker” news that you go out and find that tailor to your tastes.. and you disbelieve/ignore all the other “fake” news out there.
All this leads to one basic fact; in today’s advanced technology world there’s less trustworthy news than ever before.
No argument here, Don’t Give a F…
Guess I’m guilty of being a bit more hopeful.
The J Schools have spent the last 25 years hammering home that there is no such thing as being objective and that everyone has their own “truth”. The death of worthless boomer newspapers couldn’t come fast enough.
The only unfortunate thing is outside of the premier newspapers like NYT, WaPo, WSJ, nobody wants to pay for a newspaper who routinely puts puns in their sports headlines and copies my AP feed on my telephone.
That must have been a great boomer job. 100k a year to write a new Royals-related pun in time for the morning edition. ROYALS look Regal against SOX. With the Royals, there’s a new king at the court. OFF WITH THEIR HEAD….Royals sweep Indians. Truly the Kings of Kauffman, Royals win back to back double header.