By Jim Hightower
My newspaper died.
Well, technically it still appears. But it has no life, no news, and barely a pulse. It’s a mere semblance of a real paper, one of the hundreds of local journalism zombies staggering along in cities and towns that had long relied on them.
Each one has a bare number of subscribers keeping it going, mostly longtime readers like me clinging to a memory of what used to be and a flickering hope that, surely, the thing won’t get worse. Then it does.
Our papers are getting worse at a time we desperately need them to get better. Why? Because they are no longer mediums of journalism, civic purpose, or local identity.
Rather, they’ve been reduced to little more than profit siphons, steadily piping local money to a handful of distant, high-finance syndicates that have bought out our hometown journals. My daily, the Austin American-Statesman, was swallowed up in 2019 by the nationwide Gannett chain, becoming one of more than 1,000 local papers Gannett presently mass produces under its corporate banner, “the USA Today Network.”
But even that reference is a deception. The publication doesn’t confide to readers that it’s actually a product of SoftBank Group, a multibillion-dollar Japanese financial consortium that owns and controls Gannett. [Note: the Daytona Beach News-Journal is Gannett-owned, and has recently vacated its long-time home on 6th Street off Nova Road.]
SoftBank has no interest in Austin as a place, a community, or even as a newspaper market, nor does it care one whit about advancing the principles of journalism. It’s in the profit business, extracting maximum short-term payouts from the properties it owns.
This has rapidly become the standard business model for American newspapering. Today, more than half of all daily papers in America are in the grip of just 10 of these money syndicates. That’s why our “local” papers are dying.
It’s not a failure of journalism. It’s a plunder of journalism by absentee corporate owners.
Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker.
Rick G says
I have been a long time fan of Jim Hightower. He gets it when it comes to corporate news and journalism. I didn’t know that the News-Journal vacated their building, but not surprised.
Mark says
I would say our local papers (not all) are also a victim of their own neglect by Editors and Managers that are just there for the ride. I read the News-Journal daily, only get the Sunday paper delivered and have to read the other days on-line. The price was getting too high for daily delivery to justify what was a good paper to what it is today. When I do have an issue with a delivery their phone system (in another country) will tell you the on-line version is available, sorry it’s not like having a tangible paper to read in your hand. The News-Journal has gone downward for 2+ years now. They had some great local editorials and slowly diminished them down to Sunday only with just editorials from other parts of the State or USA Today. Thankfully I can get local news from the FlaglerLive site, some of those stories won’t be carried in the News-Journal for days after or a week even.
Jane E K says
What a sad state of affairs that corporate greed is.
Judy says
Newspapers have become either left wing or right-wing publications (including online ones such as Flagler Live which leans far left). The days you could open a newspaper or watch TV for that matter without hearing the broadcaster’s personal point of view is gone. The cost of having a daily newspaper delivered has become prohibitive for many people. They even started charging extra if you want the TV programs listed. That is now a weekly magazine you have to pay extra for. Because no TV news or newspapers are neutral anymore, people turn to reading articles online which are then controlled by the computer programmers that only show articles similar to what you just read. This means if you lean to the right, most of the article that pop up are also leaning right. same with the left leaning ones. How can we all begin to find some commonality. I have no idea!!
Wow says
End stage capitalism. Profit is all that matters.
Ponton says
That reminds me to make my yearly donation to Flaglerlive.
Robert Joseph Fortier says
Greed will be the end of us. It will destroy all that was humane and good for us.
Joan says
This is what we get when we bow to capitalism at all costs. Corporate greed runs this country and is destroying this planet and all life on it. Heartbreaking to watch especially as so many are convinced to force us all to ride this train to the end of the track rather than put on the brakes and attempt to turn back to avoid disaster
James says
” …they’ve been reduced to little more than profit siphons, steadily piping local money to a handful of distant, high-finance syndicates that have bought out our hometown… ”
Could easily apply to the future real estate and property rental industry in my opinion.
James says
So what would you consider The Palm Coast Observer? The “right leaning” counter-point to FlaglerLive?
After their “Mullins endorsement” I did a little research on “The Observer.” Much like the casual observation that every other town up and down the coast seems to have a pier, so too does it seem they have a local Observer. Sounds like another situation like the one Hightower describes. The Observer passes off as a local, but is it really?
I miss “The Pennysaver,” but I wasn’t too sad not having The Observer delivered every week.
JaiiHein says
My career as a Graphic Artist, started in 1963, sweeping Flagler Tribunes floors 13year old apprentice. I learned handset type, how to produce ads, pages, and proofreader marks. Old school craftsmanship, has died just like the journalistic aspects of a newspaper. I bought that papers printing segment after the paper part was sold to Ormond Beach Observer. Printing as a whole has now died and it’s mostly pdf files etc. Where media ends up it’s no ones clue but information from the press is vital… true information. I read FlaglerLive online…I now live retired in another country but like to know what going on in my hometown, just like the 1916 Flagler Tribune… that took many days and hours to produce 2,500 copies in 1963. The news is vital…long live FlaglerLive… PuraVida🇨🇷
tulip says
Most cable and satellite companys progran the tv guide right onto the tv, and can be accessed by the remote. And the guide is only for your area so you don’t have to find the column your area is in and follow across, like we had to in the paper. However, if a person has hulu, roku or any of those others, I don’t know if they program in their own tv schedule.
Lynn Stote says
A great article–sad indictment of the out of touch ownership of newspapers. I moved to Pompano Beach and subscribed to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel which is owned by some corporate entity. Corporate recently
ordered the editors of the Sun-Sentinel YOU ARE NOT TO ENDORSE ANYONE IN THE NATIONAL RACES SUCH AS SENATOR OR PRESIDENT. Imagine forbidding a newspaper from endorsing candidates!
protonbeam says
Only part of the story for sure. When National News and Specialty Outlets became tools of politics, cause de’ celeb and personal soap boxes – it eroded the trust the media had earned in western civilization and thus desire to consume/support such media. The media gave an honest opening for the cries of “fake news” smears-We NEED more Flagler Live and Charlie Hebdo’s to restore the reputation of Journalism. Thats my opinion anyway