One of the reasons I started blogging about local politics was because I felt that local media, while reporting the events and attributing quotes to interviewees repeatedly failed to analyze and explain to readers the real implications of decisions made by our elected officials. Locally, reporters don’t ask deep probing questions of the port or county commissioners and while printing their statements may actually reflect what was said on a specific issue it does not necessarily reveal the truth of what is going on. An example would be a committee members claim that the solid waste department should undergo random drug testing implying there is an ongoing drug problem. Yes, this person said this, more than once, but he never offered any evidence of drug related accidents or work slowdowns yet the paper printed it anyway without regard to the negative impact such an accusation would have on the people who work there.
There is an acknowledge difference between reporting and journalism that is well expressed by George F Snell.
Journalism is getting beneath the news. It’s investigation, analysis and thoughtful commentary. It’s in-depth expository reporting. And people are still willing to pay for good journalism. That’s why newspapers and magazines that have placed a premium on providing good journalism have done better – for the most part – than those that focused more on reporting (the Wall Street Journal and New York Times come to mind).
The World newspaper is essential devoid of expository reporting and its editorials are even worse consisting of unsupported declarative statements. Today’s editorial (which I will not even link to it is so bad) is one more example that the paper has forsaken journalism, betrayed its responsibility to its readers and has instead become a publicity tool or industry rag for a few special interest groups.
“The biggest obvious avenue for new revenue is to lease county forest land for surface mining.” How does the paper know this? Does it know what the net revenue will be to the county or WHEN? Does it know how much it will cost the county in timber property or services to receipt mining revenue? Does it care what impact surface mining might have on other industries or quality of life? Does it want Coos County to end up just like West Virginia?
No doubt the paper justifies its positions believing that what is good for some will somehow trickle down to the rest but if you asked its editors to show you their analysis, their fiscal impact study, their long range plan for the community… they would be incapable of demonstrating how they arrived at their opinions.
Investigative journalism is time consuming and expensive and if the reporters don’t already have background in complicated fiscal matters it is understandable that they don’t ferret through the county budget or a complicated land option and therefore not know what questions to ask. Nevertheless, if the paper wants to really provide a service beyond pimping for its advertisers and really help its readers it might hire an experienced analyst.
Meanwhile, a little drama revolving around another surface mining operation with plans to ship gravel on the Coos Bay Rail Line to Coos Bay is swirling in Lane County and is so far unreported locally.
Petulant. Perfect word thank you.
The World is nothing more than an Industry Rag. Why don’t we all just admit it? Hank Hickock wants him a link to SLC so they can being golfers in? What are we now talking about? The Taxpayers paying to lengthen the runway to accomodate larger planes to SLC. What BDunes wants, they get. I suggested something, and I’m serious about it, why don’t we sell it to Bandon Dunes? The ‘old’ terminal was fine for us locals, free parking, easy boarding, no problems, until SOME Brainiac, does anybody know who’s idea the second terminal really was? Please tell us?
This county is run by forces which reach waaaaay beyond the border of Coos County it seems.
The World doesn’t even try to pretend to be a newspaper anymore. It should just go ahead and add “Marketing and Promotion” after its name.
I have lived in many different communities and most local papers have done a great job of remaining unbiased and reporting the facts, and some have even displayed excellent journalism (The Idaho Statesman, St Petersburg Times and SC’s The State)…which is why it is frustrating to see The World so blatantly, petulantly and obviously violate journalist ethics and kowtow to a few special interests. It’s sickening, really. I do not have a subscription and rarely check in online since I can guess with 100% accuracy as to what they are saying – in fact, I could write their articles in my bathrobe without leaving the house and actually doing any reporting, and you would all get exactly the same tripe they print now. The World is the very definition of a “rag”, and it just keeps getting worse.
Could be that’s why the daily garbage can liner loses about 10% circulatiion annually. According to Lee, they are averaging circulation of 9,697 papers daily. That’s delivered to your door, sold in stores, sold from racks, given away, or destroyed because they were not sold. Ask any Oregon journalist elsewhere in Oregon what the reputation of the daily local liner is and you will hear that they are considered a joke. The good reporters don’t last long here. The reporter following the big time stuff just graduated from school and has been in this country less than a year. You exoect too much. The Register Guard has been following the 28 train loads of gravel planned to be delivered to Coos Bay weekly. For what purpose does Coos Bay need so much gravel?