Detroit Free Press Goes Digital

Papers all over the country are scrambling to find ways to cut costs and remain in business during these difficult economic times. The Detroit Free Press has been a pioneer in the newspaper industry for a long time, so it was no surprise to me when it took an innovative approach to continuing the dissemination of daily Detroit news. Starting today, the Free Press will only deliver actual papers on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (http://www.freep.com/article/20090329/FREEPRESS/903290365/1199/PRINT/On+eve+of+change++we+thank+readers). On the other days, there is a website that subscribers can get their news from. Readers can also get the paper through regular mail and at newstands and stores.
When my grandparents first heard the news, they were furious! For as long as I have known them, neither one starts their day without a cup of coffee and reading the paper cover to cover. The elderly population was one of the most vocal about the dislike in the transition. Even as a person from a much younger generation, I must admit there is something about picking up a paper in the morning and having something I can read in between classes or during meals. The issue of online journalism has been a consistent concern in many of my blog posts, but this is one of the few examples of an entire media outlet going online in a major way. I took a look at the paper today, and I admit, it looks exactly like the actual Free Press and is very easy to navigate, but it doesn't have the same feelings as holding an actual paper. I also wonder what will make readers subscribe to this new site when they can still get the news for free? For those who are loyal to the paper and care about it being in business, I think some of that population will pay the money. But for the remaining people who are forced to go online anyway for the news, will they actually be willing to pay more for the same news in a different layout? My mind tends to think this won't be the case.
Detroit is one of the few cities to have two daily newspapers still in existence. I am curious to see what changes the Detroit News will make, if any. It will be THE daily paper on days when only the online edition is available for the Free Press. I am excited that this paper has found a way to remain afloat while still providing news content to interested readers, but the question in the back of my mind is whether this will just stall time until the inevitable. How long will our city remain a two paper town, and will the online edition even reach the dwindling audience that continues to get news from their local papers? I definitely think this is innovative, but I'm unsure on how local Detroiters will receive this new paper, and if the online edition will create any much needed revenue for our local newspaper.

How Far is Too Far?

As the Kwame Kilpatrick saga comes to an end with the final consequences for Christine Beatty, it forced me to think as a journalist about the vast coverage that surrounded the affair. As both a student journalist and a citizen of Detroit, I had mixed feelings about the entire situation. I watched the stories, text messages, and continuous police investigation take place over the beginning of 2008 and come to end with Kilpatrick ending up in jail. I read the reports of how his family couldn't go anywhere without the press following them around and asking questions about their affairs. I felt saddened that one family would have to endure so much, especially the children, but also remembered the role of journalists during any kind of affair with a public figure.

One of the last major players in the case to be tried was Christine Beatty, one of the former mayor's top aides as well as the woman he was involved with outside of his marriage. The coverage of her was not as expansive as the mayor's, but even her hearing for a possible release early from jail was covered live on the Detroit Free Press' site. A legal hearing is open to the public but, there were stories of news crews outside of their homes for 22-24 hours a day. At what point do journalists invade someone's privacy beyond a professional measure? I know this is a dicey situation and I would never want to take a side on the matter, but I think many citizens had the same idea throughout the saga. Can a public official's child go to school without running the risk of being followed by the press? And is it really the goal of journalism to document a spouse in the grocery store while he/she shops? This scandal brought a lot of those questions to my mind, and reading an article about one of the final prosecuting steps for Beatty rushed back memories of the stories and coverage over the summer. At what point do we overstep the line between journalism and the invasion of true privacy?
http://freep.com/article/20090316/NEWS01/90316004/Beatty+++I+m+ready+to+go+home+

Papercuts...Is TV Next?

It's scary to watch the number of employees (it's not just writers, also drivers, editors, delivery people, etc.) being laid off by newspaper companies. I was intrigued by a recent article in the American Journalism Review about the astonishing number of jobs that disappeared in 2008. There were more than 15,000 jobs cut, with an estimation of half of them being journalists. It makes me wonder who will be the watchdogs of the government, the storytellers of the average person, and the people who report the emergencies of the world. I understand that newspapers are archaic in that they report yesterday's news. But I believe there's something in reading material that has been fleshed out and includes accurate details.

The article had a link to a map that showed a breakdown of the number of lost jobs in 2008 (http://graphicdesignr.net/papercuts/). I was surprised that so many jobs have been lost in the midwest. So when will television jobs see the cut as well? As more people go online to get their news, even the 10 o'clock shows are becoming outdated.  It was sad to read about people like Joe Grimm (from my hometown of Detroit) who was a recruiter for 18 years and left his paper after a buyout was offered.  It's true these past columnists have great writing skills that can transfer to different areas, but if reporting is your passion, won't your skills best serve the public in that capacity?  I don't think the American public truly understands what it does when it doesn't read the daily newspaper.  It's hard to separate the line between the job loses due to a struggling economy and actual changes in the news-gathering process.  

I think that in the next decade there will be a switch to online broadcasts and a cut in the number of news shows.  The days of tuning in at 5, 6, and 11 are quickly ending.  I think it's more likely that there will still be the night newscasts, but more of an always updating newscast on the Internet for viewers.  I also think smaller markets are going to do better than larger markets because there's less competition for it.  In areas like New York, Chicago, and LA, their news is basically national news.  However, for smaller markets like Saginaw, Michigan or Sioux Falls, South Dakota, local residents will not get their news unless local people report it.  The changes are scary to watch but I believe honest, accurate journalism will come out on top as it always has.  The form may just be different than we're used to.