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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