MONDAY, MAY 09, 2005
When a couple of NEWSBREAKERS explained to a local newspaper professional that we wanted to get people to care about the news again, he reeled with sympathy and said "Man, so do we."
A recent City Newspaper article by Krestia DeGeorge, titled "Dollars and Sense," explores the frustrations of local newspaper writers, painting a grim situation at one daily paper, and addresses the outlook for the newspaper industry at large.
If you're a math nerd, you'll appreciate the below findings on the attitudes of professionals who work in print and TV. State of the News Media 2005 is a good resource if you just want copius amounts quantifiable info, like this:
"Declining readership is cited by 15% of print journalists at both national and local news organizations, but no more than 2% of broadcast journalists view loss of audience as the most important concern. Instead, broadcast journalists view limits on resources - and the pressure to make profits and get bigger ratings - as the biggest financial problems… Print journalists are far more likely than those in broadcast to see credibility as the biggest problem facing journalism today. Four-in-ten (39%) journalists working at national newspapers, magazines and wire services say credibility is the biggest problem, compared with just 15% at national TV and radio outlets. And this gap exists at the local level as well, with local print journalists nearly three-times as likely as local broadcast journalists (33% vs. 12%) to cite credibility as their greatest concern."
(more at State of the News Media 2005)
I hate to spoil the surprise if you're going dig into that link, but if you wanted to know what the biggest concern TV journalists have, it's "quality of coverage." State of the News Media gives the full report)
Sounds like it might be time for a little mixer between the print and TV people, eh?
Affirmative. NEWSBREAKERS agree.
(Stay tuned...)
POSTED BY JD ROZZ AT 7:44 PM