Journalism RIP

In another example of the continued gradual decline of the American newspaper and the field of journalism in general, the Los Angeles Times recently announced that it was planning to cut 250 jobs, including 150 news staff.

I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, I do feel newspapers are an essential part of a functional democracy. Aside from providing a check on the three branches of government for the citizenry as the "fourth branch of government," I appreciate that newspapers provide a depth of coverage that most new media news outlets do not. In contrast, online "journalism" can be far from impartial, and it's often difficult to differentiate responsible reportage from unintended or willful misinformation (if it's online, it must be true, right?), let alone outright demagoguery.

On the other hand, however, I also have little sympathy or patience anymore for modern journalism, which have abdicated the basic values of great American journalism.

Modern journalism is now simply part of the "establishment," owned by media conglomerates that are more interested in protecting the status quo and their access to the corridors of power than truly acting as a responsible watchdog for the average American.

One only needs to watch classic films like the Front Page, His Girl Friday, and even the relatively recent All the President's Men to see that journalism in its heyday had a rough seedy edge to it, made up of rough-and-tumble outsiders who were skeptical of anyone in power. Perhaps that cynicism still exists, but now that these people are part of the moneyed establishment, they have happily ceded that role and primarily are more interested in "gotcha" politics and making even the most minor inconsistency a major issue—all at the expense of their role to keep the citizenry informed and educated. (Mixed in with all the eulogies that followed the passing of journalist Tim Russert, I must admit I was encouraged to see some contrarian comments. While his passing was certainly sad, I did feel he embodied in many ways what was wrong with American journalism, happily wielding a bullying power and influence that I don't think necessarily served the American public, nor was healthy either for journalism or political discourse.) In this sense, ironically it may be the blogosphere that will adopt this role, though given the inherent fragmented nature of the Web, one must wonder how effectively.

RIP to print journalism? As much as I would miss it, perhaps we should also say, "Good riddance!"