Today's announcement of big changes at the venerable New Orleans Times-Picayune — cutting 1/3 of its staff and printing just three days a week — is the latest in a long slide for metropolitan newspapers that once tried to be all things to all people. The industry downsizing has cost thousands of jobs and left a void in news coverage.
Yet what matters is journalism, and that's no longer synonymous with newspapers. In fact, the demise of big newspapers will disrupt a broken industry, allow new entrants to thrive and, hopefully, lead to better reporting and writing.
I used to have ink running through my veins, so this has been a big adjustment. I started my first newspaper in elementary school and eventually worked to become a foreign correspondent. When I lived in Asia I would purposely route return trips to the U.S. through LAX so I could buy a print metro edition of the Los Angeles Times — then America's best newspaper. I still get the Sunday New York Times in print and have paid subscriptions to many periodicals.
Yet, the downfall of the metro newspapers, which for decades held quasi-monopolies in their areas, exposes major flaws and uneven quality. When he was editor of The New York Times, Howell Raines realized that it needed to be faster (have a "higher metabolism," in his phrase) and more rigorous in order to be truly national. His missteps (e.g., Jayson Blair) caused his downfall, the pace of change slowed and, as a result, the paper is still not as good as it could be.
Newspapers like to pretend that they're independent but free thought is scarce in many newsrooms. Instead, they are hierarchical places where longevity matters more than merit. I recall morning news meetings often took their cues from TV morning shows rather than any independent analysis of news.
In Seattle there's little local newspaper coverage and it lacks rigor. Yesterday the Seattle Times had two front-page stories promoting one side of an issue. Resources are spent on "investigations" like a four-day series on Amazon that didn't really reveal anything. Last year's races for city council got only a handful of stories in total. Even my detractors would agree that the single short, poorly reported story about my campaign failed to adequately inform voters.
Newspaper management typically blames economic trends for the recent tough times, as if they are passive victims. However much of the pain among newspapers has been self-inflicted or, at least, exacerbated through a lack of foresight and strategy. For example, the Times-Picayune is only now — in 2012! — integrating its print and online operations and putting focus on the Web. It has one of the highest market penetration rates of any newspapers and New Orleans may not be the most wired city, but it's still late to embrace the Internet.
Papers have voluntarily pared circulation without creating online strategies to strengthen their brands. When I briefly worked at The Seattle Times a decade ago executives announced they were surprised that classified advertising wasn't bouncing back after the dot-com bubble. With its coverage the paper seemingly narrows its target demographic to an older, grouchier (and shrinking) readership every day. It seems to be serving a retired Boeing engineer in the suburb who still regards Microsoft as an upstart and relies on the newspaper for big-box store ads. As good journalists move on, the bench gets weaker. (For more on the industry's wrenching changes, see this 2008 article in the New Yorker.)
To be sure, the best papers are news organizations that do fantastic work, including foreign coverage, meaningful investigations and great local stories. Examples include the LA Times on Afghanistan, the New York Times on Apple and China, the Washington Post's reporting on a youthful Mitt Romney and many others.
Now that economics are putting an end to the metro newspaper the end of monopolies could help ensure demand for new models. While troubles at AOL show flaws in that business model new technologies to surface the best content, sort by location and process payments still could be part of the solution. Organizations like ProPublica, Politico and Voice of San Diego all provide inspiring early examples.
More independence could make journalism better too as organizations realize that the cushy status they enjoyed for the last several decades is over. In Japan newspapers are one of the most cloistered industries, with labor holidays when the paper doesn't print. Yet that's changing now that people have access to information electronically. There's no substitute for competition.
All of this means that if you've got something to say the onus is on you. PR doesn't mean simply pitching a friendly reporter. Instead you have to form a community around your brand or product and then engage that community. Go ahead and have a conversation. Better days are ahead.