is broadcasting broken beyond repair?

Bill O'Neill billohno@gmail.com
Wed Apr 2 11:02:24 EDT 2008


Doug Drown wrote:
> . . . And yet, I would offer a prediction: it will be the small-town 
> stations and the small-town newspapers that will survive the longest.  
> They fulfill the unique role of providing local news, sports and 
> weather coverage that aren't covered --- or adequately covered --- by 
> other media. 
Local newspapers here in western Vermont (as well as throughout the 
state) get a lot of eyeballs, relatively speaking. Most are published 
once or twice weekly; as such, no one expects the paper to do what their 
websites can do.  They are read by those who want opinion, viewpoints, 
reader contributions on subjects.  They tend to work, out of pure 
necessity, in tandem with other media.  What they can't do, however, is 
pay.  While idyllic New England communities embrace their local papers, 
replete with school lunches and court logs, they struggle to meet the ad 
buys necessary to enlist the expertise of real news diggers -- the ones 
local hacks and solons should hold in esteem.  Instead, they get a pass.

Bill O'Neill


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