Upon hearing that The San Francisco Chronicle is in dire straits and on the verge of folding, which is one of the biggest daily papers in one of the United State’s largest cities, the Rocky Mountain News, one of Denver’s last remaining daily newspapers, actually is closing for good today. The last publication, slated for Feb. 27, gave its employees one day’s notice before shutting its doors for good.
According to the Rocky Mountain News‘ breaking news section, Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, “broke the news to the Rocky staff at noon today, ending nearly three months of speculation over the paper’s future.”
“Denver can’t support two newspapers any longer,” Boehne told staffers, some of whom cried at the news. “It’s certainly not good news for you, and it’s certainly not good news for Denver.”
In fact, it’s really not good for anybody, especially aspiring journalists, Scripps shareholders and pretty much the newspaper industry as a whole.
The disintegration of daily newspapers around the country is the closest thing this country has seen to the decline of radio, and all its merits, throughout the mid 20th century. Except it’s much worse.
Unlike radio, whose ultimate demise could be blamed on the advent of the household television—meaning the American public roughly got the same qualities as far a news reporting and entertainment—there is no substitute for daily coverage in print form. The reliance on Internet as a news source, even if it is just the online version of a printed newspaper, is, at best, secondary to the actual print form.
Let’s look to the Rocky Mountain News, for example. The breaking news story stated, “In the past decade, the Rocky has won four Pulitzer Prizes, more than all but a handful of American papers. Its sports section was named one of the 10 best in the nation this week. Its business section was cited by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers as one of the best in the country last year. And its photo staff is regularly listed among the best in the nation when the top 10 photo newspapers are judged.”
Yes, awards can be given to online publications just as easily as printed ones, yet legitimacy still lies with its print counterparts. The only reason The New York Times is The New York Times (and it’s online version matters) is because much care, expertise and tradition is abundant and has been fostered within its printed form.
It is a hard road to tread for the daily newspaper that starts online, and stays online.
Hell, it’s a hard road to tread for any newspaper having to downsize and rely mostly on online content. Just look at the Portland Tribune, which, after making the move to once-a-week print publication, and a daily online format, has yet to increase employment, taxing an overburdened staff without an increase in the quality of content.
Ultimately, it comes down to the value of the printed page. That can be monetary for some, while priceless for others. It is surprising that, with as much emphasis Americans place on the value of legitimate news, we (or, at least, the people we elect) choose to brush aside the end of one of the most important industries in U.S. history.
While the automakers, the financial sector and the housing market are getting their bailouts, the newspaper industry, like a neglected stepchild, is sorely being forgotten.
Let’s stop the worrying about an unholy alliance of government involvement with the press, and understand that industries considered “too big to fail” include the newspaper industry. Or perhaps, base it on importance. The newspaper industry is too important to go bust.