Temple: What local newspapers should do, Part 2
John Temple
2. Establish a clear and credible public service mission. Newspapers tout their watchdog role, but if you evaluate the percentage of their expenses dedicated to this function, the budgetary reality would undermine the claim in many, if not most, cases.
If newspapers are going to follow a membership model, as I believe they should (see recommendation #1), there has to be a reason to join. Today the most common complaint is how thin many newspapers have become. Even if unfair, the belief that there’s “nothing to read” in many newspapers is widespread. The No. 1 reason to support a local newspaper should be because it’s an independent watchdog dedicated to holding government and other powerful institutions accountable and to enabling citizens to participate fully in our democracy. Ultimately, it’s not how much there is to read that matters. What matters is whether the newspaper makes a difference in the lives of its readers and its community.
If newspapers do this, the foundation of every one of its communications with the public can be this simple truth: that the newspaper, in tandem with concerned members of the community, is performing an essential function – as essential as water, power and roads. Without the newspaper, people must know, the community would be that much poorer. Today, in some cases, for perhaps understandable reasons, newspapers are not able to forcefully make that claim.
Click here to read the blog post by John Temple, former editor of the Rocky Mountain News, at Temple Talk.
Completely agree with this point. The watchdog role John refers to is exactly the reason I subscribed to INDenverTimes (prior to their missed subscription deadline). Professional investigative reporting in our community is a core service that I’m willing to pay for. IMO the national media organizations can’t be relied on for solid reporting at that level, let alone at the State or City level.