18 Jan Democracy is at stake
In the wake of recent layoffs at the Seattle Times and the possible sale or closure of the Seattle P-I, a group of 30 to 40 Seattle-area journalists came from as far north as Mount Vernon and as far south as Olympia to discuss the state of journalism in our area. The mood was, of course, up and down but interestingly, while some journalists talked about what they might do if they lose their jobs, most of them focused on what local layoffs, closures and mergers & acquisitions will do to journalism as a whole. This is not news to us, but because we don’t always share what we do with our readers and viewers, it may be news to our communities.
Among the casualties:
– Democracy
– Open government
– Checks and balances of big business, school districts, municipalities and more
– Thorough news coverage
– Timely news coverage
– Objectivity
– Jobs
– Talent talent and dedication to journalism
If you are concerned, let’s get the discussion started and figure out how we can keep journalism and democracy alive.
Dale Steinke
Posted at 11:10h, 20 JanuaryRegardless of whether mainstream media jobs are going away faster than they can be replaced by online opportunities, some are demonstrating that entrepreneurial-minded journalists have an opportunity to expand “boutique” journalism in service to a local audience.
Sites like WestSeattleBlog.com and Exit133.com are generating enough traffic to pay the salaries of a couple people. It may not be for everyone as a profession, but for people who are doing it, they’re filling in a void the mainstream media isn’t filling with fast and frequent hyperlocal news and information that people seem to care about, if the amount of traffic and comments are any indication.