Slog
News & ArtsMonday, March 16, 2009
Media You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Or, you know, not. According to a Pew Research Center poll, it's likely more people will miss the P-I's globe than the P-I itself.
As many newspapers struggle to stay economically viable, fewer than half of Americans (43%) say that losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in their community “a lot.” Even fewer (33%) say they would personally miss reading the local newspaper a lot if it were no longer available.
And only a little more than half of those polled who currently subscribe to a daily newspaper say they will miss their daily newspapers when they're gone, a data point that doesn't bode well for those fantasizing about transforming all of the P-I's current subscribers into dues-paying subscribers to a new non-profit daily newspaper.
The P-I has been going out of business for months now—and Eli's been all over it, and done great work—but I've yet to run into anyone who isn't in the news business that seems to give a shit. The subject hasn't come in up conversation with any civilians.
1
I'd miss it more if it had'nt been driven into irrelevancy first.
i still subscribe to the daily NYT.
i still subscribe to the daily NYT.
2
There only needs to be some kind of newsprint fetish object you can hold in the morning while you have your coffee and English muffin. It could be printed in Latin; whatever. Just a thing that lets those who get a kick out of the ritual keep circling in the same holding pattern. They'll still go online when they need information but some kind of physical paper thingy needs to be flung on the porch every morning by Opie Taylor on his bike. Or a robot that looks like Opie Taylor.
Or one of Golob's mind-controlled chimps dressed as the freckled red haired munchkin, flinging his papers in black and white, or sepia tones. Or we could go the Matrix route and jack the whole fantasy into the heads of those who want to hold a stack of newsprint every morning.
You know I'm trying to help, right?
Or one of Golob's mind-controlled chimps dressed as the freckled red haired munchkin, flinging his papers in black and white, or sepia tones. Or we could go the Matrix route and jack the whole fantasy into the heads of those who want to hold a stack of newsprint every morning.
You know I'm trying to help, right?
3
My low opinion of both Seattle papers aside, there will definitely be something lost, but the only way people will feel it is when it is finally lost. This is just one of those things where society would rather keep its head in the sand about it and then wake up when it's too late.
The only way to do something about it is to let people feel the loss -- then people will hopefully reconcile and do something about it.
Or not.
Papers have been taken for granted since before we were born. This will be interesting, and I'm not really looking forward to it.
The only way to do something about it is to let people feel the loss -- then people will hopefully reconcile and do something about it.
Or not.
Papers have been taken for granted since before we were born. This will be interesting, and I'm not really looking forward to it.
4
Stranger staffers are all civilians. You guys don't break stories. You run them into the ground with your bias, double-standard ridden, thoughtless drivel.
5
I'm not in the news business, but I care. Local papers provide extensive local coverage that simply cannot be duplicated by the weekly papers or by the blogs. I know it's a cliche thing to say, but these papers are essential to our democracy, and they provide a much needed watchdog type of service for the community. That said, I haven't actually bought a dead tree edition in years. It's so much easier to just read it on my phone on my way to work every morning.
6
@4, ouch but you know kinda true.
But who needs newspapers? I mean we have the blogoshphere to tell us what to think. And the internet is just FULL of accountable news reporting!!
But who needs newspapers? I mean we have the blogoshphere to tell us what to think. And the internet is just FULL of accountable news reporting!!
7
If people were concerned about living as informed active members of a participatory democracy, the loss of the P-I might bother them.
As it is, they can get the sports and weather elsewhere.
As it is, they can get the sports and weather elsewhere.
9
And Dan, it never occurred to me that I'd miss my barista until I walked in one day and some surly dude took my order, got it wrong and then said it was my fault.
16 oz non-fat extra-hot triple. Same thing every day.
Yes, I took Julia for granted. But if you'd asked me a month ago, I would've denied it. How could I know?
16 oz non-fat extra-hot triple. Same thing every day.
Yes, I took Julia for granted. But if you'd asked me a month ago, I would've denied it. How could I know?
10
Yes, yes: we suck. We know—but it never hurts to be reminded. Low self-esteem is what made the Stranger great.
12
Most people don't care, I think, because most people don't care about/ pay attention to state/local politics. They don't realize how thin public interest journalism has become, or how that basically lets all sorts of corrupt behavior become entrenched and democratic ideals become a fig leaf for crony capitalism. Or, worse, some of them realize very abstractly, but are so cynical that they expect this to be the case. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's the dark underside of the post-literate and apolitical who don't show interest in public affairs except for supporting Obama as a media icon.
13
Between the Times and the P-I, hundreds of thousands of people *pay* to receive the newspaper every day. So to suggest either or both won't be missed shows what a small world you live in.
And of course, nobody would ever actually pay for The Stranger.
And of course, nobody would ever actually pay for The Stranger.
14
For me it is like the Sonics leaving, eh, whatever. It really hasn't affected me at all and I doubt that I will miss the PI either.
But the Globe... that is another story. Where the hell is the Globe going to end up?!
But the Globe... that is another story. Where the hell is the Globe going to end up?!
15
One of the most depressing events in a flood of depressing events. Emmet Watson and Sam Angelhoff must be rolling over in their graves.
16
Just because the P-I is folding doesn't mean we are left without a local paper. The Seattle Times is likely to remain around for at least a little while. Does anyone really read two local dailies? (I used to on occasion when the Times was an afternoon paper, but not anymore.) Many (most?) cities have lost their competing daily.
I certainly don't know why people fetishize the Hearst Corporation over the Blethens. Let's face it, very few, if any, dailies have progressive ownership.
There are lots of things we miss, but new things to take their place, if not exactly replace them.
Would anyone give up the information available on the Web in exchange for remaining a two-daily town? Of course not.
I certainly don't know why people fetishize the Hearst Corporation over the Blethens. Let's face it, very few, if any, dailies have progressive ownership.
There are lots of things we miss, but new things to take their place, if not exactly replace them.
Would anyone give up the information available on the Web in exchange for remaining a two-daily town? Of course not.
17
@16 - we meant Seattle local papers, not suburban local papers, kk.
Blethen can go peddle his rag to the pit bull crowd.
Blethen can go peddle his rag to the pit bull crowd.
18
You're getting your stereotypes mixed up, Will. Pit bulls are not comfortable suburbanite dogs. But, uh, don't let that stop you. God knows we're all keen on hearing about your reading habits.
20
I'll miss that part of my morning when I drink my coffee and read about world events and interesting local stories. I'll also miss my daily crosswords. Yes, even gossip and advice, recipes and gardening tips, movie reviews, local arts, health tips and info., Oped, Obits., etc.
21
The bemoaning about the harm to our community, to our democracy, rests on an unsupported assumption: there cannot be a better alternative to the P-I's reporting about local government. Really? To begin with, how many resources did the P-I actually dedicate to coverage of local politics and government? How many reporters covered issues such as transportation? By my estimate, a lot more were dedicated to covering topics that others (e.g., radio, TV, the wire services, the Times, blogs, etc) already had covered or topics that don't fit within the "Seattle will be diminished unless this is covered in a printed newspaper" category, such as lifestyle topics. Indeed, from what the new Executive Producer of SeattlePI.com says, http://www.seattlepi.com/business/403794…, the loss of the printed P-I could be good for the community: "A lot of [SeattlePI.com] staff efforts will be on coverage of government, spending, crime, and harder news in general." Lots of popular columnists (e.g., Connelly) will remain, 150 reader bloggers will still publish on the site, and SeattlePI.com has "signed up dozens of prominent local leaders to write columns." Horsey will still be around. Also, under the new plan, SeattlePI.com journalists won't just be plodding around Seattle with notebook and pen, but will be producing photos and videos in addition to their written stories. As can attest the Mariners fans like me who read Geoff Baker's blog at the Times (Baker posts lots of photos and videos along with his written reporting and commentary), this is an exciting development. It seems to me that the SeattlePI.com will actually be better for the local community and democracy. With all of these resources dedicated to covering local happenings, and with SeattlePI.com's dedicated focus on "hard news" and multimedia production, it seems like the new P-I's content will be even better for the local community than what we had before. I'll be a frequent reader of SeattlePI.com's own content, and I'm also excited for SeattlePI.com to aggregate and select the best coverage from the many neighborhood and issue blogs around the city. Right now, it's kind of a pain to surf from West Seattle Blog to Magnolia Voice to the Rainier Valley Post to the Seattle Transit Blog and so on. I'm happy to have editors pick the best posts for me and give me one-stop shopping. If I sound like a cheerleader here, it's because I am. Yes, this is change. Yes, this is a sad turn of events for the people who relied on the printed P-I for a living. I don't mean to diminish that hardship. But by focusing on the loss, we fail to see the opportunity here. There will still be many places to go when we want to read comics, the Mariners box score, the TV listings, movie schedules, celebrity gossip, or national news. Seattle will be better for this.
More...
24
Hearst Corporation pull plug on Seattle P-I print edition, Seattle P-I publish final print edition, freak out, online-only out, SEATTLE P-I BECOME ONLINE-ONLY NEWSPAPER!
ONLINE-ONLY SEATTLE P-I WILL SMASH ONLINE-ONLY SEATTLE TIMES!
And no, I don't feel like letting it go.
ONLINE-ONLY SEATTLE P-I WILL SMASH ONLINE-ONLY SEATTLE TIMES!
And no, I don't feel like letting it go.
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