Fast Horse
They’re bad for business, says Jorg Pierach. “Newspapers continue to risk alienating partisan readers, who now have the option of turning to other places for news that more closely fits their worldview: Huffington Post, Drudge, etc.,” he writes. “The business problem for newspapers comes down to increased competition and branding.”
To save themselves, and preserve what remains of the critical Fourth Estate role they play, newspapers should ditch opinions altogether and focus on what truly sets them apart in their markets – solid local reporting, news analysis and in-depth investigations. Focus on quality. Cover local news, business, arts and sports better than anyone.
Mark Potts wrote in 2008 that “in a time of stringent cost-cutting, the editorial board and its unsigned opinions may be an unaffordable luxury (and I’m not even sure luxury is the right word, for all the damage editorials do to credibility).”
> Are newspaper critics old hat amid the flood of online critics? (Kurtz/April 2010)
Comments