My wife commented this morning that the Journal Star has cut the size of its paper. Sections that used to have six pages (e.g., Taste, Business) are now down to four. The Cue section has shrunk from ten pages to eight.
Then I turn on the Markley & Luciano show on 1470 WMBD and hear that they’re also cutting staff. Luciano called it “Bloody Thursday.” While not mentioned in the Journal Star article about the layoffs, Phil said five employees in the newsroom were given pink slips, as well as five or six non-newsroom employees.
This is bad news for Peoria. Fewer reporters means fewer stories get covered, fewer leads are followed, and the watchdog capability of the fourth estate is reduced. It also means that more people are going to cancel their subscriptions, which will undoubtedly result in further cost-cutting. The future looks dismal for the largest downstate Illinois newspaper.
No word yet on which reporters were canned. Maybe one of the remaining reporters will investigate that for a future article.
From Sunday’s editorial page:
The Journal Star is not immune to the economic pressures and challenges facing newspapers or any other industry in America today. Those fiscal realities have prompted some changes on the opinion page.
We bid a fond farewell to columnist Jerry Klein today after 55 years of writing in one fashion or another for the Journal Star, as we do to syndicated columnists David Broder and Kathleen Parker.
As you can see, we also will no longer be devoting a full page to Sunday Op-Eds. What shape the page will ultimately take, we’re not yet sure, except to say that it will be different than what you’re accustomed to and will likely provide more opportunities for local reader and writer input. If you have something on your mind and you’re just going to explode unless you share it, please do so before that happens. This could be your chance to get published.
As always, thank you for reading.
Mike Bailey
We need a free press. We need reporters willing to investigate the truth. Definitely sad news. Citizen commentators and citizen journals are certainly welcome and wonderful but a dedicated professional staff of committed journalists is essential to a free and vibrant community. What options do we as a community have to helping support a free press?
New York times has an article today about a Chicago start up business “The Printed Blog”. Coming to Peoria CJ?
I’ve looked at the Printed Blog business model. Basically it’s a sucker bet. You sign up to get your feeds scraped, then printed out and someone else gets the revenue.
And their is no function the PJS op-ed page provides that isn’t being done better and with MORE freedom on Peoria’s many blogs and forums.
And their is no function the PJS op-ed page provides that isn’t being done better and with MORE freedom on Peoria’s many blogs and forums.
Not to disagree, but we need professionals committed to doing what is right. Can blogs and forums promise this?
I think that the problem with news papers and most news media today, is you can go anywhere and see the same news story. News papers just get it to you the day after it happens. People can get the same news, as it happens, on the Internet, on TV, or from a blog. The majority of news consumers, today, like to get a snap shot of the world is it is now, not as it was yesterday. Unfortunately, news papers are a victim of this faster past news consumer.
In addition, providing a news service is no longer the function of any press. Every story is written with the slant of its writer’s political opinion. In some cases, reporters are so eager to publish an article that they fail to fact check, and get the story wrong. The news media has lost so much credibility, that a growing number of people actually feel that the government should prosecute journalists that write factually incorrect stories. That is a very scary prospect.
The combination of a fast paced society, and the fact that most people look at the press with skepticism has turned a once vibrant and proud industry into history. In the end it is the people, of a nation who depend on a free press to survive, who will suffer.
Most folks are not going to spend considerable time reading blogs particularly if the blogmeisters are busy doing other things or not interested in certain issues. Who will post obits, local news from nearby towns, or non hot button issues in the local community? Opinion must be separated from facts in blogs so everyone can more easily determine where lies the truth. We need the PJS and other community papers to keep informed and be good citizens. We need the news in order to be good citizens and be informed of all issues. I am an old fart and I am fearful as to where our society is heading. Citizens in ignorance are easy to manipulate by unscrupulous folks that mean us harm. Buy a newspaper and be informed. Create a website or network of websites that will help us to stay informed and advertise it widely throughout the community to the masses.
Generation why said: “I think that the problem with news papers and most news media today, is you can go anywhere and see the same news story. News papers just get it to you the day after it happens. People can get the same news, as it happens, on the Internet, on TV, or from a blog. The majority of news consumers, today, like to get a snap shot of the world is it is now, not as it was yesterday. Unfortunately, news papers are a victim of this faster past news consumer.”
I hear this generalization so often it is maddening.
Some news outlets work with a mindset of trying to be different and have strories you will not see elesewhere. As news editor of the Peoria Times-Observer I have just that mindset.
Recently we have carried stories not seen elsewhere such as:
* Mark Plebanek dropping out of the race for the 4th District council race.
* Divided We Fail effort goes to Schock
* Robins surprise Peorians
* Will green building initiatives go brown in economic dpwnturn
* Former Peorian working on animation for Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary season
* Junior Achievement finds lessons in economic downturn
* Local businessman calls Israelis the “new Nazis”
These stories may not be what any one particular news consumer is interested in, but they are unique stories in this market. Any newspaper is staffed by conscientious reporters and editors who work hard to provide unique content whether it be the Times-Observer or the PJS.
Unfortunately this doesn’t appear to be in conjunction with a move to more of a web-based business model. There is clearly less content being added each day than even a month ago. That, the slow-loading pages, and cutting staff indicate a wilting on all fronts.
So.. picking up today’s (Friday) Journal Star, what do I get for my $1.
I am an International/National/Local politics sort of reader so bear with me.
Section A (International & National):
A good 50% of section A is utter reprinted fluff (pages 2,3,5,6). Those AP reprints can be found a bazillion places online and its not unusual for the PJS to print stuff that is more than 24 hrs old. There are basically 2 articles and the OPed page that is worth reading. All of which could be fit on 4 pages with a few adverts thrown in. Even then, those articles really are more of local interest and no national news per se. So I am going to say 3.5 pages out of 8 are worthwhile.
Section B (Local & State):
This really is the only redeeming section in the PJS. It’s the only one with generally near 100% original content. The sprinkling of AP articles is generally of local/state concern but could be done away with. So… 5.5 of 6 pages is good.
Section C (Health… they read it for the comics, mmk):
Section C is basically 1 page out of 4 in original content. Keep the comics, ditch the rest. Personally, I think your selection of comics is lacking but fine, people still read the comics. 2 pages out of 4 is worthwhile.
Section D (Sports):
This is probably the only section most readers read. I toss it into the recycle bin immediately. Clearly Section D is where the PJS spends most of its effort but there is still a lot of fluffy reprints. I give this 5 pages out of 8 as being a worthwhile read. The reprints are not news. Sports junkies have already read it.
Section E (Classifieds):
Section E is another bin tosser. 2009 Camry? Really? You need an article on the front page? Ok, I understand that the Classifieds are the paper’s bread n butter. But really, do you need the reprinted article on the front? 11 of 12 pages of ‘original’ content/ads.
Section F:
For most folks this is an automatic bin toss. Yeah its another bread n butter section that I predict is just going to die because most people don’t look in the paper for houses anymore. There is no original content per se, just ads. I am going to disqualify this and treat it as an advertising insert rather than a real newspaper section.
Add it up:
16 pages of content plus 11 of Classified. So 27 (round to 28) pages out of 38. So in my opinion 27% of the paper is utterly redundant and could be cut. That is 27% you are paying AP or some other news service for. Ok so why does this matter? Well someone is probably going to argue that paying AP for content is cheaper than a staff person. This is probably true. But if you are printing AP stuff, there really is no incentive for ME to be a subscriber. So you catch yourself in a downward spiral.
What the PJS needs to do is drop the AP crap and focus on LOCAL news. That really is the only reason anyone has to get this paper. Go a step further and find people to submit articles from surrounding burbs for a fee on a periodic basis. The PJS is overly focused on Peoria. I have a hard time believing there aren’t police blotters for East Peoria, Washington, Pekin, etc… Where is the news of East Peoria looking for a New Urbanist development for the ‘brown earth’ Cat land? Get out there and pay attention. Are Washington residents concerned about sprawl too? I bet some are.
Give me a reason to keep subscribing.
Oh and editors.. don’t be so full of yourselves. Your stock is trading at 7 cents a share. Your company is a joke. Your job is on borrowed time. Your reader base is shrinking fast and aging. Younger folks want local news too but you aren’t talking to them. The ground is shifting underneath you and you look feeble and near incompetent. You should be grateful for the likes of CJ and Bill Dennis cause they are helping to keep you relevant… even as you more n more cease to be.
My big beef with the Peoria Times-Observer is the overly North Peoria focus as if it were a separate city (which isn’t exactly far from the truth). I guess this is ‘ok’ if I lived up there. Where is the urban news? Maybe we need a Times-Observer Heart of Peoria Edition?
As a former JS newsie, I can sympathize. I left in ’99 to work for the San Jose Mercury News because the paper’s lack of ambition was just too grating day in and day out.
Guess what happened in San Jose: Our newsroom staff got cut from 400 to 150. Copy desk, where I work, went from 40 to 13.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m a hostage of having grown up in Peoria because every day the Mercury News does stuff that I would’ve thought impossible if it were up to me. Aggressive, in-depth local reporting, fancy graphics, stunning photography & multimedia (one of our photographers won a Grammy), all produced with less than half the production staff we had a few years ago.
It’s hard to keep talent in a place like Peoria when bigger markets are always steeling your best people (occasionally oversights are made and folks like me escape as well), but lack of talent does not have to equal lack of ambition. It just seems to work out that way.
If they still have 7-8 full time photographers on staff, a few more local photos every day shouldn’t be out of the question, either.
Who needs a newspaper or radio? We have canned music in our Ipods, we have reality on TV. And besides, we can always listen to journalists like Rush, Dean Hannity and Glenn Beck if we want to know the truth… oh yeah… and Dennis Miller.
“My big beef with the Peoria Times-Observer is the overly North Peoria focus as if it were a separate city (which isn’t exactly far from the truth). I guess this is ‘ok’ if I lived up there. Where is the urban news? Maybe we need a Times-Observer Heart of Peoria Edition”
I have to agree with this statement. Where is the line drawn for North Peoria? War Drive, Lake St., Glen Ave?
Every so often there is an interesting article in the Observer but most of the time not. Seems to me it’s only purpose is to cater to some snobs on the North side of town and its main focus is ND, Dunlap and Richwood’s sports. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone on the north side of town is a snob (I live in the north side of town) but since the Observer intentionally excludes the rest of Peoria because they have drawn an imaginary line it kind of hints at__________ (you fill in the blank).
I would hate to see the Journal Star go away. As much as I get mad at some of the writing we need the local news and stories and we can’t rely on the local tv for that info.
“we need professionals committed to doing what is right”?? NO, WE DON’T! That kind of thinking is part of the problem. Too many arrogant “professionals” think they know better than us ordinary folk. They promote their agenda, instead of giving us objective reporting; they cover up stories that don’t fit their template. Finally, it’s basic economics, if people think they are getting value for their money, they will buy, it they don’t, they won’t. Instead of telling us how much we need them, perhaps the PJS should look at ways to increase their value so people will buy it?
The Observer is a North Side community paper, just like the community papers of the South Side. I can’t recall their names, but I check them out every once in awhile when I am downtown.
Does The Observer have circulation in any other area of town?
What I hate most about it is the commercial crap inserts they have now…
I believe Mr. Bartels’ reporting of local issues to be among the very best in the area.
I agree that Bartle’s reporting is good but takes more than one good reporter to make the paper worth anything. I guess I can’t complain too much- it’s free.