Wash. Post columnist: Time to shut down the small papers

[JayFarrar]

I think he's picturing a streamlined - and probably electronic - version of a regional hub operation that gathers and streams (or prints) relevant regional, national and international news, sends it down the line to the local outlet (paper or photons), and receives in return the newsgathering from that local delivery point.

The JG, do you mean something like the AP. That's kind of what they do already.
To a degree, at least.
My personal feeling is that what the guy said is not something he would print.
It was in an online forum and I suspect that he would have a different take or at least a take that put what he said in context so it relates.
In a sense, some places are already doing that. Even on a small level, such as a state capitol bureau office that provides local copy for smallish, regional chains.

Edit: The JG has already provided more context than the Post guy did in an off the cuff online chat response. Just saying.

 

[jgmacg]

Charge for all information on all platforms. Customers won't like it. But if they want information, they have to understand that it costs money to gather, analyze, report, and collate.

It seems to me that was his thought, yes.

 

[DanOregon]

I agree with the economy of scale part of it, the problem with metros is you have more news orgs fighting over the same pie, radio, TV, Internet, newspapers. In smaller areas you have less competition for the entire market. Share of market is how you sell advertising.

 

[jgmacg]

I think he's picturing a streamlined - and probably electronic - version of a regional hub operation that gathers and streams (or prints) relevant regional, national and international news, sends it down the line to the local outlet (paper or photons), and receives in return the newsgathering from that local delivery point.

The JG, do you mean something like the AP. That's kind of what they do already.
To a degree, at least.
My personal feeling is that what the guy said is not something he would print.
It was in an online forum and I suspect that he would have a different take or at least a take that put what he said in context so it relates.
In a sense, some places are already doing that. Even on a small level, such as a state capitol bureau office that provides local copy for smallish, regional chains.

It's a little like the AP model, I guess, but AP doesn't put out the end product. They merely stream content to the outlets who do the final assembly in the form of their local papers or broadcast. My interpretation of Pearlstein's idea is more of a soup-to-nuts operation.

I'm thinking this is more analogous to a television network, where you have a handful of big combines (NBC, CBS, etc) that stream content down to the local level. Then that outlet adds its local component.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Another egghead with all the answers, opining from an ivory tower.

Compare profit margins of big papers vs. small papers since 2006, when this Black Death of an economic crisis first started warming up. I for one know no little fish who have lost their jobs.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Epic nose-picking.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Epic nose-picking.

Epic snobbishness.
Epic ignorance.
Epic opining from an ivory tower (thank you, LJB ... perfect phrase).

And because he won a Pulitzer, we should listen to him and simply accept this? Good grief ...

 

[Drip]

Epic nose-picking.

Epic snobbishness.
Epic ignorance.
Epic opining from an ivory tower (thank you, LJB ... perfect phrase).

And because he won a Pulitzer, we should listen to him and simply accept this? Good grief ...

Sam, they listen because they can't or refuse to think for themselves.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Walter Duranty snagged a Pulitzer for praising Stalin. Enough said.

 

[Joe Williams]

Epic nose-picking.

Walter Duranty snagged a Pulitzer for praising Stalin. Enough said.

And Jimmy Durante picked his epic nose.

 

[ggMets]

I think local newspapers web or print are soon on their way to relying heavily on "community correspondents" to write stories, putting more of us out of jobs.

 

[SportsDude]

Epic nose-picking.

Epic snobbishness.
Epic ignorance.
Epic opining from an ivory tower (thank you, LJB ... perfect phrase).

And because he won a Pulitzer, we should listen to him and simply accept this? Good grief ...

He complains about the lack of local coverage in smaller newspapers, then turns around and states the business would be better if the smaller papers, providing most of that type of coverage, die off so the larger papers, which would provide none of that type of coverage, would live.

OK.