Losing the News: The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy (Institutions of American Democracy)

[RamboLiberal]

From Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly
Pulitzer Prize journalist Jones (coauthor of The Patriarch) argues that the demise of the newspaper industry is corroding the iron core of information that is at the center of a functioning democracy. Increasingly, he contends, what is passed off as news is actually entertainment; puff pieces have replaced the investigative reporting that allows citizens to make informed decisions. We seem poised to be a nation overfed but undernourished, a culture of people waddling around, swollen with media exposure, and headed toward an epidemic of social diabetes, he writes. Sifting through a history of the media that touches on such technological improvements as the Gutenberg press and the telegraph, Jones focuses on the Internet and the damage he believes it has wrought on print newspapers. Weaving in the story of his own family's small newspaper in Tennessee, Jones presents an insider's look at an industry in turmoil, calling plaintively for a serious examination of what a nation loses when its newspapers fold. Unfortunately, he offers few answers for saving print journalism, but his compelling narrative will incite some readers to drum up solutions of their own. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Jim__]

1. Have you read the book?

I'm curious as to whether or not you agree with him. I agree that if we lose our newspapers, we lose a tremendously valuable resource. But, I'm not sure it's all due to the internet. TV used to produce good news, and the newspapers had to compete with that. People that had broadcast licenses used to be required to give some time to the public interest (I'm not sure exactly how that was worded). The big networks all had reporters stationed around the world - major cities anyway - news was their contribution to the public interest. Big newspapers also had international reporters - I think to stay competitive. During the Reagan admin, the public interest requirement was dropped, and networks came to view their news departments as profit centers - fluff is cheap. International reporters were dropped. Most newspapers followed suit.

The internet has something to do with it, but I'm not sure how much.

[RamboLiberal]

2. Haven't read it yet

But will be listening to author on local liberal Lynn Cullen's (Pittsburgh) internet radio tomorrow. I'll probably skim it in the bookstore.

http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/index