Call me old fashioned ...

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."