Newspaper staff embraces the grind for quality coverage
Thanksgiving always provides a break in the calendar to reflect on the past year and look forward to what is yet to come.
On the horizon, we see a different landscape for newspapers compared to TV or radio and that is because of outsiders coming into the business. David Hoffman, a large real estate developer, is buying newspapers hand over fist because he believes in journalism on the local level. His company now owns more than 80 newspapers ranging from Florida to Colorado and is in talks to buy Lee Enterprise newspapers which would make him the second largest company behind USA Today. Hoffman recently said he feels like any community with a great local newspaper is better positioned for growth versus towns that are news deserts because radio and TV don’t fill the void.
In our eyes, television news broadcasts are quite hollow because stations continue to center their coverage around showing how a victim’s life is worse than anyone watching. This is done just to get eyeballs on the screen in the course of six or seven broadcasts in a day now vs what used to be two to sell ads for what only seems to be car dealers or A1C pharmaceuticals. Do you think any of them will be at next school board meeting, covering North Union football or at the city Christmas tree lighting? Not unless someone’s hair catches on fire.
In the news business, you never know what tomorrow will bring, but we wanted to take a minute to recognize the job the Journal-Tribune staff does, especially in light of what President Donald Trump just said about ABC news with regard to poor reporting. This newspaper is nothing like TV news or an internet blogger chasing clicks and we never want to be. Our staff lives here and has relationships that have developed over time to help us understand what is really going on in town first hand. We value those relationships because with all the hours that reporters sit in meetings, cover athletic games or just take time to talk to officials to get the details subscribers want to read, that ultimately has helped us tell the community story for 176 years from the inside out.
Anyway, we appreciate the time staff members put into their job and have heard that from readers as well. As far as the future, we think that Hoffman’s arrival is a breath of fresh air. We say that because we think he is correct when he says the bottom is in for our industry and now is the time to invest in the future of newspapers like what we are doing too.
As the community grows, we will expand our relationships and offerings like we did with the app, the website and now the podcast so new residents can be brought into the fold and be part of the conversation. We ask you to reflect this coming holiday on the past and future, as we wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.
