After this post, my readers will either think I’m crazy or revel in my genius. I guess that’s all up to you.
I was having a conversation with a friend the other day when the subject turned to some local news topics. My friend was very adamant that certain points of view weren’t getting out and the conversation turned in a direction I’ll share in a little bit.
But first, let me preface this with a little history lesson. How about winding the clock back to around 1980? Ah yes, the Reagan vs. Carter “are you better off than you were four years ago?” election. I can paraphrase that and ask the question “Are you more informed about local news than you were thirty years ago?”
You see, I don’t know what the situation on the ground was here on Delmarva – apparently WMDT-TV was still in its infancy but WBOC-TV and the Daily Times were already here. It’s similar to what I grew up with in rural northwest Ohio – three local television stations with news at noon, 6, and 11, the one Toledo daily newspaper, and a weekly paper in the closest town. In other words, local news wasn’t that easy to come by because there was only a few minutes devoted to it on television and the newspapers gave it to you a day (or even a week for hyperlocal news) later.
Obviously the game has changed in the three decades since. Another phenomenon just barely started in 1980 was the 24/7 news cycle brought on by cable news networks. Add to that the advent of the internet as a news source – but not just a static source like print, because we can feature audio, video, or both. We even have some real-time aspects and most likely the advances in technology will soon make on-the-spot live video reporting possible for even technophobes like us. (For all I know, maybe that’s available. I just write this stuff and place the jump in an appropriate place.)
Yet the biggest complaints about the various media over the years still apply. Although all of the local news outlets are active on the internet, most of their news gathering is done for an audience still suited for the old-fashioned days of news at noon, 6, and 11 or the daily paper. You get the same stories, just in a different venue.
Granted, television has the advantage of giving you on-the-spot breaking news but programming formats rarely dictate this approach except for all but the most major stories. Breaking into programming for something like a County Council vote would be unheard of, even if it’s an otherwise compelling story. Also, it’s rare that you get a lot of depth placed in a news item from television since they have to breeze through a half-dozen top stories, weather, and sports in a twenty-minute package (once commercial time is deducted.)
On the other hand, newspapers are allowed to go into depth and should be expected to do so given the lag time between when news breaks and when the edition hits your doorstep. But sagging advertising sales have forced many newspapers to cut a lot of the reporting staff that used to dig deep, beyond the who, what, where, when, why, and how.
And whether you pick up a copy of the Daily Times or watch our local television channels, you may be amazed at the amount of prefabricated features carried in both – fluff pieces where the only work is for the editor to clear out a page or for the anchor to do a scripted voice-over.
Another recent addition to the news game seems to be the addition of “free” stuff, such as using amateur video to detail stories on the television news. Its local newspaper equivalent is where much of the editorial page is made up of letters to the editor, op-eds solicited from local writers, or the Grapevine section.
But the question up top still applies – are you being served when it comes to local news?
Starting about a half-decade ago, there have been bloggers who set out to cover local news, with at least one vowing to bankrupt the Daily Times. Several sites have bounded off to promising starts only to be bogged down by personality conflicts, vendettas against enemies real or imagined, and a reliance on the same copy-and-paste items which they once condemned local newspapers for using.
There’s no question that we on the internet have plenty of copy to choose from. I don’t have a news site per se but I get a fair number of press releases per week dealing with political items. Obviously there are a few which pique my interest, but as a rule I prefer to add my say to what the sponsor has said instead of just regurgitating it like others do.
But what if there were a local news site where reasonable journalistic standards were applied, and items were written by people unafraid to hide behind a mask of anonymity – people who have the integrity to stand behind what they said because it was an accurate version of events, or if they were incorrect they’d own up to it without blame or excuse?
What if there were a site which would attract advertisers without being involved in a tug-of-war between competing personalities; a site which would make them proud to be associated with it as we all promote the good old-fashioned American tradition of capitalism? It would be an investment in the community, but without the self-serving side helping of egotism.
My friend believes it can be done, and he’s convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt I’m the guy who can pull it off. But I’m just a humble writer who likes to sit at his laptop (that I just got back last evening, hallelujah!) and write about political stuff, sports, and local music. If this were to happen, it would take an effort almost comparable to the Extreme Makeover house (but without the county spending a dime.) I would need additional writers so I had more content to edit, but more importantly I’d need advertisers as a source of capital.
Perhaps I’ve gotten a bit jaded over the last few years as I’ve seen a lot of promising websites come and go because the site owners can’t commit to the time needed to do it right – and this prospective endeavor, more than most, needs to be done right. Maybe I’m the guy to do it, but maybe not. I’m a born skeptic.
But the success I have accomplished in about three years as a professional freelance writer has been based in no small part on the forum you’re reading. Should there be enough interest in the local news site I’m contemplating, I would have two websites which would be co-equal in the hierarchy but may have slightly different content from me. This site could get more of a national focus, which is just fine with me. Some of my items with local flavor might end up exclusively on the other site, to be placed among the other fine work I’m sure can be created by local writers who dig in depth to the stuff which matters to us.
It’s all up to the reaction I get – is this a pipe dream or can we as a community make it a reality? Let’s see if we can get beyond personalities and let the outlets which do little but hate and pursue personal vendettas wither on the vine. It’s time for a new beginning – if you’re willing to help bring it about.
Spread the word. You know how to reach me.
