Thanks for your brilliant illustration of how partisan news sites (or, more accurately, pretend-to-be-news sites) promote their partisan narratives. I'll definitely share.
Will your illustration form the basis of your next Guardian column? I hope so. I'd love to share on X-Twitter and/or LinkedIn.
In addition to facing acute (money) problems, the news sector faces a chronic (cultural) problem. And it's going to take a lot of acts by a lot of people to shift our friends and neighbours to actively support quality journalism.
Thanks for your call to action. We might also encourage folks to reduce — or stop — engaging on Meta platforms (Sadly, and beyond frustratingly, even some of my former newsroom colleagues continue to feed Facebook's profits -- by copying and pasting news stories into their FB posts!)
Just want to say that the San Francisco Chronicle, which Herb Caen of blessed memory called "fish wrap," may get smaller by the week, but what it does report is notably better, deeper and more interesting than in its heyday. The LA Times is also still an interesting paper. I get both online.
I just knew you would tell us what we need to know about the appalling events at WaPo. Thanks so much.
And thanks also for the equally appalling news that fake news sites now outnumber real news organizations. I still subscribe to the print edition of The Buffalo News and the Lockport paper; digitally to WaPo and the NY Times; and I'm a contributor to the Investigative Post. It kills me to hear from good friends that they no longer wish to subscribe to local news.
The Missouri Independent and the Kansas Reflector, both States Newsroom affiliates in my neck of the woods, do excellent work and freely share it with other news outlets in return for attribution. Otherwise yes, pink slime is a big problem. As for Sinclair, this is the operation that required its affiliates to run commentary by trump consigliere Boris Epshteyn. Enough said.
I'd definitely agree that States Newsrooms don't belong in the category of "pink slime" sites.
And I'd reiterate - if the news industry in the U.S. wants to help itself, and increase its value, the members of our industry will adopt a set of minimum standards & practices. Such standards will not only increase trust in actual news, but would likely end up cutting out propaganda outlets like Newsmax & OAN, and possibly even Fox.
Also somewhat agree with your Guardian piece, Margaret - though frankly, I think Jeff just needs to axe Will immediately. There's nothing that Will could do that earn my trust back. Once a Murdoch stooge, always a Murdoch stooge.
Thanks for the tip about Steve Waldman and his site RebuildLocalNews.org. Would like to connect to a mailing list (I don’t see him on substack or threads and don’t see a link on the site except an invitation to join the coalition.) just want to keep up with the posts on the site.
Revisiting this article this week just to check back about Lewis. But I want to comment that “Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy.” is a great , but terrifying read. Everyone who cares about local news journalism should read it.
Thanks as always for the insights. These trends are very alarming, to say the least.
As for the advice to subscribe to a local paper or website, I would offer the following caveat: Subscribe if at all possible to a locally owned or at least locally run newspaper/site that is truly connected to the community (or communities) it covers, as opposed to simply trying to profit from a community's troubles through alarmist clicks and page views.
The paper where I spent over two decades in the S.F. Bay Area was initially locally, family owned and had strong ties/connections with the communities it covered. This resulted, for the most part, in valuable hyperlocal journalism that included important context. We were later sold to Knight Ridder, which was a reputable newspaper company that invested in local journalism (though not perfectly) and largely maintained those local connections. Fast forward nearly 20 years, and the "local" paper is now owned by a New York venture (or "vulture") capital hedge funds that cares nothing about local journalism and has only been interested in stripping the product of whatever assets it possesses, then slashing staffing to the bone. After exhausting those efforts, its strategy seems to be to continue to operate under the guise of producing "local" news, but in reality its primary interest is to produce what I call "parachute" journalism; parachuting into the communities it professes to "cover" only when it can generate clicks through alarmist, superficial storylines and narratives that often lack proper context and nuance, and then disappearing on the issues that truly impact readers' lives. After leaving the paper, I started my own Substack to fill the gap in local journalism in my community. Even when the Bay Area papers see fit to report on the same topics I do (such as recent safety issues/hazardous releases with our local oil refinery), the reporting is often superficial at best or focused primarily on the most alarmist storylines instead of the more nuanced, complex realities that can only be achieved by following an issue or community on a consistent basis. "Local" journalism in which the people controlling the journalism are not connected to the local communities, or truly care about the issues they face, can do more harm than good.
I know that situation well. You might be talking about the Mercury-News. But I think of my former colleagues in Buffalo; they work for a chain and although that’s very regrettable, they still need our support. I hear you, though.
Thanks for your brilliant illustration of how partisan news sites (or, more accurately, pretend-to-be-news sites) promote their partisan narratives. I'll definitely share.
Will your illustration form the basis of your next Guardian column? I hope so. I'd love to share on X-Twitter and/or LinkedIn.
In addition to facing acute (money) problems, the news sector faces a chronic (cultural) problem. And it's going to take a lot of acts by a lot of people to shift our friends and neighbours to actively support quality journalism.
Thanks for your call to action. We might also encourage folks to reduce — or stop — engaging on Meta platforms (Sadly, and beyond frustratingly, even some of my former newsroom colleagues continue to feed Facebook's profits -- by copying and pasting news stories into their FB posts!)
For some other suggestions to support local news, without spending any money, please feel free to check out https://www.ink-stainedwretches.org/resources.html
Thanks, Mirko. I appreciate your comments and your suggestion.
Just want to say that the San Francisco Chronicle, which Herb Caen of blessed memory called "fish wrap," may get smaller by the week, but what it does report is notably better, deeper and more interesting than in its heyday. The LA Times is also still an interesting paper. I get both online.
Thanks, that’s all good to hear!
I love your work, Margaret. But darts for listing your excellent book first in recommendations for more info.
Fair point! And duly noted.
I just knew you would tell us what we need to know about the appalling events at WaPo. Thanks so much.
And thanks also for the equally appalling news that fake news sites now outnumber real news organizations. I still subscribe to the print edition of The Buffalo News and the Lockport paper; digitally to WaPo and the NY Times; and I'm a contributor to the Investigative Post. It kills me to hear from good friends that they no longer wish to subscribe to local news.
If only everyone were like you, Monica …
The Missouri Independent and the Kansas Reflector, both States Newsroom affiliates in my neck of the woods, do excellent work and freely share it with other news outlets in return for attribution. Otherwise yes, pink slime is a big problem. As for Sinclair, this is the operation that required its affiliates to run commentary by trump consigliere Boris Epshteyn. Enough said.
Exactly right, Dan. Glad you are a fan of States; I know a young journalist in one of their newsrooms and he does fine work.
I'd definitely agree that States Newsrooms don't belong in the category of "pink slime" sites.
And I'd reiterate - if the news industry in the U.S. wants to help itself, and increase its value, the members of our industry will adopt a set of minimum standards & practices. Such standards will not only increase trust in actual news, but would likely end up cutting out propaganda outlets like Newsmax & OAN, and possibly even Fox.
Also somewhat agree with your Guardian piece, Margaret - though frankly, I think Jeff just needs to axe Will immediately. There's nothing that Will could do that earn my trust back. Once a Murdoch stooge, always a Murdoch stooge.
Thanks, points taken!
Thanks for the tip about Steve Waldman and his site RebuildLocalNews.org. Would like to connect to a mailing list (I don’t see him on substack or threads and don’t see a link on the site except an invitation to join the coalition.) just want to keep up with the posts on the site.
Kathy, I don’t know of such a list. Steve is on Twitter/X; but I know you may not enjoy that cess pool! I still find it useful
Thank you! I really want to keep up on his efforts, would like to get him on the “regular reads” routine (like you!). Will figure something out.
Revisiting this article this week just to check back about Lewis. But I want to comment that “Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy.” is a great , but terrifying read. Everyone who cares about local news journalism should read it.
From one Lackawannan to another, it is a great book. And very prescient.
Thanks as always for the insights. These trends are very alarming, to say the least.
As for the advice to subscribe to a local paper or website, I would offer the following caveat: Subscribe if at all possible to a locally owned or at least locally run newspaper/site that is truly connected to the community (or communities) it covers, as opposed to simply trying to profit from a community's troubles through alarmist clicks and page views.
The paper where I spent over two decades in the S.F. Bay Area was initially locally, family owned and had strong ties/connections with the communities it covered. This resulted, for the most part, in valuable hyperlocal journalism that included important context. We were later sold to Knight Ridder, which was a reputable newspaper company that invested in local journalism (though not perfectly) and largely maintained those local connections. Fast forward nearly 20 years, and the "local" paper is now owned by a New York venture (or "vulture") capital hedge funds that cares nothing about local journalism and has only been interested in stripping the product of whatever assets it possesses, then slashing staffing to the bone. After exhausting those efforts, its strategy seems to be to continue to operate under the guise of producing "local" news, but in reality its primary interest is to produce what I call "parachute" journalism; parachuting into the communities it professes to "cover" only when it can generate clicks through alarmist, superficial storylines and narratives that often lack proper context and nuance, and then disappearing on the issues that truly impact readers' lives. After leaving the paper, I started my own Substack to fill the gap in local journalism in my community. Even when the Bay Area papers see fit to report on the same topics I do (such as recent safety issues/hazardous releases with our local oil refinery), the reporting is often superficial at best or focused primarily on the most alarmist storylines instead of the more nuanced, complex realities that can only be achieved by following an issue or community on a consistent basis. "Local" journalism in which the people controlling the journalism are not connected to the local communities, or truly care about the issues they face, can do more harm than good.
I know that situation well. You might be talking about the Mercury-News. But I think of my former colleagues in Buffalo; they work for a chain and although that’s very regrettable, they still need our support. I hear you, though.