Defending the necessary news

Is the object you are now holding in your hands (or reading online) about to disappear?I refer to the newspaper, and I ask because I care deeply about the answer.My entire career was spent in newspapers — as a reporter, an editor and a publisher — when the industry was still thriving as the dominant force in public information and advertising. Now, looking back from a retirement perch, I see this institution declining day by day and wonder what this foretells.The evidence is everywhere: newspapers cutting back on size and number of pages, layoffs in the newsroom, and newspapers being sold at fire-sale prices or just shutting down. It is not just the “object” itself but journalism as a public service that concerns me, although I do confess to relishing a paper in my hands, the smell of the ink on that porous newsprint, and the systematic ordering of articles and photos as opposed to the undifferentiated deluge of data we call IT.We all know many of the reasons why newspapers are no longer as relevant and influential as they once were — and that means all the way back to before the founding of our country until about 25 years ago. That’s when newspaper readership, circulation and advertising revenue began its downward slide and the world of electronic communications, PCs and the Internet started to dominate our lives. I don’t blame the new technology, and I do use it myself. It is fast, encompassing, economical and interactive, much more so than a daily newspaper could ever be. But there are things that a newspaper still does better than anything or anyone else. I speak about serving the community.When a new school budget is proposed that could better educate my grandchildren or raise my taxes; when an old friend has died; when a new movie theater is planned in town; when the latest response times of the volunteer fire department are reported; what the state legislature is up to; and how the high school football team is doing: All that news still comes primarily from newspapers. Why? Because they are the ones with boots on the ground. Newspapers still employ the bulk of professional reporters, editors and photographers dedicated to finding out and telling us what is happening in our own backyard. No one else has been able to effectively do that. That doesn’t mean it can’t change in the future, and it doesn’t mean that newspapers have ignored the new technologies. On the contrary, their survival seems to depend upon it. The main problem is that there are fewer news professionals to do the necessary work.The Pew Research Center recently reported that U.S. newspapers have cut their news staffs by 30 percent since 2000 and employ the fewest journalists since 1978 — when our country had 97 million fewer residents (222 million to 320 million today). The electronic media have not filled that gap.For those unfamiliar with media economics, it is important to know that a successful newspaper — or any news provider, for that matter — must make money in order to fulfill its mission as a public servant. Most of the revenue — as much as 70 percent — traditionally came from advertising. Newspapers made their money mostly from display ads, such as a department store’s listing of the latest bargains, and classified ads, such as help-wanted notices and apartment rentals — neither of which radio or television could adequately provide. Today, the Internet gets much of that business, except for local retail advertising, where local newspapers still enjoy an edge. I believe one reason for that is that local businesses know that local newspapers are very much still a key part of the community. As an editor and publisher, I always felt that a newspaper’s most important function was to serve as the public’s “watchdog” of government. But I couldn’t afford the staff to cover all the board meetings, courts, fire and police in our area without making enough money to pay those bills while continuing to make a profit for owners. That is no longer a given.I think the public bears some of the responsibility for the demise of newspapers. It is clear that the need for two incomes in a family and the growing call on people’s time have made newspaper reading more of a luxury than a necessity. But willingness, or the lack of it, plays a role, too. Even back in the 1980s, when I was a publisher, reader surveys consistently showed that “watchdog” news was being read less than stories about celebrities, the entertainment industry, human interest, sports and the comics. We see this pattern continuing today in low voter turnout for town budget meetings, despite their direct impact on our pocketbooks and the good functioning of town government.The strength of newspapers in our society cannot be separated from the democratic process. I hope readers will remember that when their subscription bills come due.Forrest C. Palmer, a resident of Heritage Village in Southbury, began his career at the Waterbury Republican in 1951, joined the Danbury News Times as editor in 1968 and retired as its publisher in 1990. He has remained active in Freedom of Information advocacy and is a past president of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government.