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Call me old fashioned ... |
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March 29, 2012 |
By Mike Weland
Publisher
I had an interesting email exchange yesterday
that might explain why so many local people and
organizations are loathe to share with me the
news I need to fulfill my dream and the reason I
started this journal; to bring back to this
community a media dedicated to providing local
and timely news coverage.
It's not because they don't want to, but because
they've become used to the fact that, one way or
another, they're going to have to pay for it.
That's what dawned on me yesterday when I
contacted an out-of-state funeral home to
request the obituary of a former county
resident. It was sent right away. But a bare
moment later, I received a follow up email, "do
you charge at all for obituaries and pictures?"
No, ma'am, I don't.
But I can understand why she had to ask the
question, and the question goes far in
explaining why our media is in decline. As a
whole, mainstream media has, I fear, lost sight
of why they exist ... to present news. In all
too many cases, what was once considered "news,"
the very product we dedicate ourselves to
provide, has been shifted from one side of the
ledger, an expense, to the other.
To do that, we expanded the definition of what
advertising is so as to be able to charge
advertising rates not only for the publication
of the legitimate ads that enable us to publish
news, but to guarantee the publication or
broadcasting of what we not long ago presented
as news, on the premise of "assured
publication."
The media has great latitude in what it
publishes, or doesn't, as editorial content ...
we don't have to publish what we don't
get paid for, and we can pick and choose what we
publish as news so as to keep interest in our
particular publication high so that we can
retain the readership our paid advertisers
demand.
In other words, we found a way to charge for
what we once published as news.
As an Army brat, I never had the privilege of
having a town I could call home, but I could
always gauge the places I came to live, small
towns all, by the tone of the local paper and
the broadcasts of the local radio station.
Even though I didn't know anyone, I delighted in
those towns with media that published with pride
the news of the people in the community, and I
felt welcome. Conversely, there are towns I'd
never go back to; their media wasn't welcoming,
and their towns weren't either.
The lady from the funeral home hasn't written
back, but here's how I replied:
"No, ma’am ... I never charge for running a
local obituary or an obituary announcement, nor
for wedding announcements, birth announcements,
announcements of personal achievement, family
reunions, civic functions, etc.
"I know most media these days charge, and that’s
why there are very few truly 'local' medias
still around.
"I want to know and publish when great grandma
and five generations of a family get together,
when Aunt Becky was the bridesmaid at her best
friends wedding, and that the bridal party all
wore lilac taffeta. When a local kid enlists to
serve his nation, when a local nerd wins a
contest or a spelling bee.
"I’m a throwback, Jean, but to me, all that is
news and the reason and the why I publish. I
have to keep my readers interested all the time,
so that when news is needed and lives are at
stake, they trust, rely and turn to what I
publish in time to matter.
"I can’t imagine charging for news, and I left
several more 'successful' media outlets both for
that or because they wanted me to 'adjust' my
news to suit advertisers.
"If I do my job well, I’ll reach the same people
local businesses need to make their businesses
successful, and what they invest in advertising
with me will pay them back more than what they
spend, thanks to my readership and reach.
"They’re not buying my news ... and they won’t
control news content ... all I offer is the
possibility that they’ll reach potential
customers who read the news I provide, and that
some of those readers will either need their
product or appreciate their support in making
possible a news source readers can trust.
"Thank you for that question, Jean. I’ve been
publishing News Bonners Ferry for a year now,
and while I appreciate the way my readership has
grown, I’ve been terribly disappointed that very
few send me the news I need to make this a
better local publication.
"I think you hit the nail on the head, and you
opened my eyes.
"With the dismal state of media today, those I
need as sources of local news worry that I’m
going to charge them for publishing instead of
doing what media is supposed to do ... get news
out to those interested in time to matter.
"It breaks my heart that you had to ask the
question, but I’m glad you did." |
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