About a half of an hour ago, a rumor came from Twitter news source on all-things media, @themediaisdying: a rumor that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, one of two daily newspapers in Seattle, Wash., was officially closing. Only a few minutes later, the report: rumor confirmed. And then, seconds before I was about to hit "publish," the information was declared "bad" and the report rescinded. Dozens of media insiders were buzzing with the almost-news and the fact remained: the paper will close if a backer isn't found in the next few weeks.
The Seattle P-I is a venerable Northwest newspaper and has been the leader among the three major newspapers of the area: The Oregonian in Portland, the Seattle Times, and the P-I. Were the Seattle P-I to indeed close, this would be a huge blow to mainstream media and the city of Seattle, whose second daily newspaper, the Times, is rumored to be close to bankruptcy. As a longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest, I've seen the pecking order of media repeated more times than I can count: the P-I breaks the news and the Oregonian and Seattle Times piggy-back like eager little brothers.
As Erica C. Barnett wrote in her Slog entry regarding a hearing hosted by a Seattle City Council member on the decline of newspapers, "what needs saving isn't newspaper-those that aren't already dead are dying-but journalism, and the journalists who do it." Will either the newspapers, or the journalists, be saved? On news of these two papers struggling and the Baltimore Examiner closing altogether, what does the future hold? Is media really dying or is it just a medium [that is, every periodical printed on paper]? My bet is that newspapers and magazines will be winnowed considerably over the coming year until only the very very best remain. For now: pick your investments in printed media very, very carefully.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-02-2009 @ 12:56PM
Chuck Adams said...
I will miss the morning paper. As a teenager, I got up at 4 am and delivered the PI netting $55 per month. I was a pitcher for a very good PI softball team and had great fun and gained personal confidence. The PI sent PI carriers on trips to Ellensburg Rodeo, Victoria BC, etc. I will miss the morning sports review, articles such as MRSA, duping of the elderly, poice stories, health issues and even advertising specials. It will not be the same without the morning PI C.C.Adams