A Moment of Silence

You might think that since I am a longtime (18-plus years, currently on leave) employee of the Albuquerque Journal, I'd be gleeful at the news that the afternoon competitor is up for sale -- a sign to most that it will close down. Far from it. I was quite sad to learn the news when I went online a few minutes ago.

Part of my sadness stems from the fact that I know and admire several of the hardworking reporters and editors at the Albuquerque Tribune. They are dedicated, talented people who deserve to continue to ply their craft. And part of my sadness comes from the fact that good, strong competition makes good newspapers. I remember grabbing the Tribune and gnashing my teeth if it had a story on my beat before I did -- and then doubling my resolve to not let it happen again.

Yet another element of my sadness comes from a wistful confusion over what is happening to newspapers today. All around the country, newspapers have been in trouble, cutting staff, cutting pages, cutting corners -- and cutting coverage. I know people contend its an inevitable result of many developments: free news on the Internet, other non-paper sources of news that are more immediate (TV, radio), increasingly busy lives in which people argue they don't have time to sit down and read.

I would argue they don't have time not to. To me, none of those other news sources can replace a newspaper. I can't imagine starting my day without the feel of that paper in my hands as I turn the pages and run my eyes up and down the columns. Can the Internet take its place? Perhaps, but I find one thing that disturbs me about Internet news. (Besides the fact that most of the solidest news on the Internet is from newspapers, which subsidize the online version.) At least when I go to the Internet to check news, I scan headlines, or maybe just go to the page or collection of stories that interest me the most (e.g., health stories, movie reviews).

With a newspaper, though, a story sitting there right in front of me might catch my attention as I start scanning the first few paragraphs. I don't have to push an extra button to decide to call the whole thing up. And thus I end up learning about some event, issue or condition that otherwise I would not have bothered to call up on the Internet. I become more informed. And I get more detail and understanding than I likely would get from a 30-second blurb on TV or quick summary on the Internet.

As we lose news outlets, we lose voices that challenge our public officials, reveal elements of our society, or discover wrongdoing. Blogsters don't replace that. The standards of neutrality, reliability and fairness are, yes, upheld by that mainstream media that get battered by critics. I will give credibility to something I read in the newspaper; I won't necessarily do that for something I read on the Web.

We can't afford to become an even more ill-informed society. Lack of solid information and knowledge makes us more easily manipulated by politicians, bureaucrats and corporate fat cats who have their own agenda, one that benefits them more than the public. Don't let them gain even more control than they already have. Keep news alive!