Let’s set the Buffalo News straight!

[davideduardo]

I was hoping to get those of us who understand what a debacle "HD" radio has been to contact newspapers whenever they succumb to Iniquity's PR apparatus. If we don't set them straight, who will?

Do you really think that anyone interested in technology issues goes to a newspaper for information?

At some moment, soon, we can ask the same question without the "interested in technology issues" part.

 

[radioskeptic]

Good point, David. And Bob Savage already skewered the Buffalo News back in Reply # 6.

Still, I think we have to challenge PR puffery and outright lies wherever they turn up.

 

[SirRoxalot]

When the day comes that newspapers are no longer a source of information - no matter how it's published - we're all in trouble. They're still by far the best source of actual reporting, and have the deepest staffs of any media. Heaven help us when the day comes that we have to rely on bloggers to provide "facts" about anything.

 

[audioguy]

Newspapers are indeed an important part of American history... and they have usually been a good source of news and information. However, in my experience most of them struggle to report on technical matters accurately.

 

[Tom Wells]

Even "true" information is often badly distorted or presented in a way that makes important distinctions meaningless,
or utterly ignores specifics.

But then, I expect newspapers to run commercial fluff misinformation pieces.

 

[davideduardo]

When the day comes that newspapers are no longer a source of information - no matter how it's published - we're all in trouble.

Newspaper staffs have been significantly reduced, just as circulation has fallen and revenue has evaporated.

When you look at many of the major papers from the Miami Herald to the LA times, circulation is off by 40% or so. Many papers are losing money, some are in bankruptcy or have been in receivership.

Few papers have established a viable internet model. In many markets, TV stations have made the web transition better than papers because they both have news staffs and are video oriented.

In many respects, newspapers are pretty much over for most people under 45 or 50, and the quality has declined so much that those in the "I grew up with newspaper" generations have quit buying them.

 

[Savage]

Most of the successful internet newspaper ventures have involved partnering with TV stations or websites with a strong video component. I think the vast majority of metropolitan dailies have accelerated their own demise with an editorial stance about politics and social issues which is violently at odds with the basic values of their readership, considering the demographics of print media users. It's very weird to watch. Newspapers continually blow off their toes, feet and fingers. It's like they have a death wish.

 

[iyiyi]

OK. So maybe the newspapers closed all their local news bureaus -- and doubled the price from 50 cents to $1. Even so; until Insignia or somebody else develops an HD radio or TV that you can swat a fly or line your kitty cat's litter box with, the newspapers know that they still have a unique purpose.

-

 

[Tom Wells]

Hey, newspapers have SO many extra functions.
You forgot about wrapping up fish cleanings, sweet corn husking, quick floor spill absorption, and spray paint masking.

I'm sure others will add more useful functions for newspapers after "reading".

They're great for compost worms and guinea pig bedding.

I have always either been in a household that subscribed (my parents) or subscribed myself.
My wife is the REALLY avid newspaper reader here.

 

[SirRoxalot]

The cuts in TV staffing go almost as deep as newspapers, particularly in technical staff and sports coverage. They certainly don't offer greater depth and breadth than local newspapers, although their video content is slicker.

Radio news is largely a sham. There are fewer reporters in an entire market now than there used to be in any of the leading full-service news stations of the past. There's way more rewriting of material from other sources than there is real reporting.

Journalism in general is in trouble, and it's got as much to do with the content providers cutting costs as it has to do with the demand for that content. The cost cutting has more to do with property acquisition and its related costs than it does with the actual cost of content.

 

[iyiyi]

I agree. None the less, I don't believe that I have ever worked at a radio station where rewriting the Journal wasn't a very significant source for morning news copy.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Journalism in general is in trouble...

For journalism to be in trouble, you'd have to find some journalism first. What passes for "news" on broadcast media these days is either mere headlines or political propaganda...IOW, the film "Network" in real life.

 

[calstymes]

dumber than a box of hair did thusly spake:

IOW, the film "Network" in real life.

It is my considered opinion that the film "Network" was prophetic.

It may not have quite happened yet, but it will.

 

[diymedia]

dumber than a box of hair did thusly spake:

IOW, the film "Network" in real life.

It is my considered opinion that the film "Network" was prophetic.

It may not have quite happened yet, but it will.

As a former broadcast journalist (in radio, even) I can say it's already happened. What we're missing is Howard Beale.

The Telecom Act was passed 20 years after Network's theatrical release, making this particular scene most prescient: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI5hrcwU7Dk