It’s no secret the print journalism business doesn’t have the same following or financial backing that it used to.
To work at a daily paper in a town the size of Creston is something I don’t take for granted given there are cities such as Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay whose print media is now subject to only being seen online.
I understand that at the end of the day, it is a business, but I would be remiss if I didn’t ask the readers to do what they can to support local and national print journalism.
Recently, Fox Sports and Vice Sports have both decided to shear their respective print departments and switch to video entirely. Fox announced those changes last month while Vice decided to change course just last week.
ESPN also laid off a good chunk of its staff, print and video, for more on-air personalities and much less reporting.
Having worked in front of and behind the camera in college, I understand the importance of video and the way that medium reaches vast audiences. Especially today, video can be shared without running up against a pay-wall, which prevents quite a few websites from ever gaining the eyes it may need someday.
Plus, there is something to be said for reading information instead of having it spoken to you. I, for one, still keep and collect the front pages of major events such as the Giants World Series wins and Warriors NBA titles (they make great decoration and serve as a wonderful memory).
All that being said, the video realm of journalism and media doesn’t exist without print. Techniques may be different and on-screen personalities may not have to adhere to AP style, but one still must know how to write.
Print media is invaluable. There are so many stories, just through the last decade, that have been dug out by newspaper reporters, local and national, that have have helped change the community around them for the better.
I say this as a reporter for a local paper, so I will admit to my bias and acknowledge the fact that it may be blatantly obvious, but there is still plenty that can be done to reverse the trend facing print.
How many other industries are out there where competing employees and mediums alike are praising each others’ work?
They do that because they care about the industry as a whole.
Support any print media outlet you can and keep the talented reporters everywhere in the industry.
I, myself, am trying to continue to support new outlets when I can afford to do so. I am already a subscriber to the Washington Post, but as of last night, I am a new subscriber of The Athletic, a new start-up sports print medium.
I first saw the news of the website expanding on twitter. I still follow a ton of reporters from the Bay Area on Twitter and a few of my favorites recently announced they were transitioning to this new platform.
The goal of The Athletic is to bring “premium sports journalism for diehard local fans” in some of the bigger cities in North America.
The one that hooked me was the Bay Area edition of The Athletic that will be launching Aug. 1. The publication already boasts websites for Chicago, Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland.
Though The Athletic is only an online publication, it is still going to be a competing media outlet on the main stage.
Print journalism has been around for a long time. Times may be changing, but that doesn’t mean everything else has to.
Now that I’ve said all that, I will leave you with this. If you’ve made it this far and don’t already support your local paper, you will undoubtedly reap the benefits of being more in touch with your surrounding community than you ever were before.
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Contact the writer:
Twitter - @CarterEckl
Email - ceckl@crestonnews.com