Paper that had owned WFNX to shut down paper

[Dale H. Cook]

At 04:29 PM 3/14/2013, Donna Halper wrote:

>This is sad news on many levels.
>... often covered stories the mainstream press did not.

It is sad news. Even though many alternative media may exhibit a political slant that I have not shared since I was a rather young man I still read them precisely because I find in them many stories of interest that I will not find elsewhere. I would rather read, hear, or see a story with fundamentally sound reporting that has a bit of a political slant that differs from my political slant, than read, hear, or see fundamentally sloppy reporting from someone who has the same political slant that I do. Also, if a mainstream media outlet has a story about "Wooster, Massachusetts" it makes me think that if they cannot bother to use a pronouncer there are likely to be other flaws in their reporting.

This reminds me a bit of when the Daily Hampshire Gazette bought the Valley Advocate several years ago. Although it was sad to see an alternative acquired by a mainstream that alternative bore little resemblance to the paper that I read in its first couple of decades. The steady dwindling of diversity in the print and broadcast media is something I regret. Ah, well, I still have my local NPR station. Even though my political slant differs from the slant that I sometimes hear in their stories I still hear a lot of solid reporting at the national and local levels, as well as hearing stories at both levels that I am unlikely to find elsewhere.

Dale H. Cook, Market Chief Engineer, Centennial Broadcasting, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA
http://plymouthcolony.net/starcityeng/index.html