The War of the News

I have been spending quality time with PBS Frontline's documentary called, "News Wars." The documentary gives an in-depth report on the state of the news industry and how it has dramatically changed since the start of the turn of the Century. From the Bush Administration, leaking (governmentally speaking), "Plame Gate," to new issues in source protection, politics have had dramatic impact on how the news is done. The medium of cable TV as well has had a huge impact from serious "hard" news to ever increasing allotment of "soft" news - entertainment, style, sports (Anna Nicole Smith, Tomcat - need I say more?) The best "hard" news program is the Daily Show, which says a lot about the disrepair of mainstream news. Additionally, the internet is significantly altering the way we access news, the specialization of news and how it is distributed. Newspapers, still the overwhelming producer of legwork, research and on the ground journalism are in an anxious scramble of how to adapt to the new business dynamics, how to counteract a diminished reputation, and how to maintain principles of serving the public trust.

Which brings me to my point and my link. The PBS documentary is a mere, "Lord of The Ringsish" 270 minutes long, hence I will cut to the chase with what I found was most fascinating and infuriating. There is a series of clips in a row that tells the wistful tale of the experience of the LA Times and how it sheds light on what is happening in the broader context of the news industry. In the role of "Sauron" is the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate that owns many media outlets based in Chicago (Mordor). The Los Angeles Times is "Frodo," burdened with the task of bearing the good news (journalistically speaking). If you have the time, have no girlfriend, or live as long as Elves, please check out three 10 min long clips (might not work for Firefox):

The Story of the LA Times and American Journalism

Chapter 21: The Story of the LA Times http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/view/21.html

Chapter 22: The Fight to Save the Paper

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/view/22.html?c=4wm

Chapter 23: "Hyperlocalism"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/view/23.html?c=4wm

The development of "hyperlocal" news is indicative of the state of journalism in our time and the political-cultural context we live in. In the one bit, the Tribune "Sauramon" Representative basically said, we won't cover the news because there is no profit in it and we want to offer news that people find more palatable, a.k.a. fluffy. This financially based strategic plan of the Tribune Company for the LA Times is the embodiment of the debate of the shift of to local, soft news, and moving away from finding out and telling about the proverbial truth in American journalism.

At one point the NY Times editor sarcastically gives a comment of the common excuses to reduce to local news, "If you want to go find out about the war, buy the NY Times." WHAT!?! Isn't this journalistic institutionalization of denial or playing into the society to believe "If I shut my eyes tight enough I don't see anything bad?"

It used to be that businesses existed for a purpose - to publish a newspaper, to produce toilet paper, to manufacture gaskets, etc. Now the immense shift in purpose to making money for Wall Street, stockholders, and shares is at the center at the struggle for newspapers future. The current state of affairs in journalism is being dictated by the understanding that purpose becomes secondary or at least a means to an end of greater wealth. Having been around enough news folk with my work in Germany, that vibe was something that was easy to pick up on. Newspaper folk would say that this is hurting newspapers to be able to provide an important civic function and to be able to look out for the public trust. Ironically, the documentary points out that the most trusted source of news, according to polls, is NPR, which is a non-profit model.

Sheesh! I think I might need to go cleave some Orcs to feel better about myself, but that might just be another form of escapism. Instead, I will go, buy newspapers and listen to NPR, so Frodo will at least have a chance.