Fourth Estate Flight
As newspaper advertising revenues and circulations continue to decline, veteran reporters are being asked to leave the ranks of the state’s Fourth Estate.
Last month the Tribune-owned Hartford Courant offered buyouts to senior-level reporters looking to cut 10 newsroom jobs. Among those to accept the offer are Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Lynne Tuohy and Michael Regan.
The two will join many other distinguished Courant-career journalists who have accepted the newspaper’s buyout deal in recent years, including former veteran Courant journalists Denis Hogan, Robert Frahm and Michele Jacklin.
The paper isn’t alone in dispatching its seasoned journalists. Two weeks ago, JRC-owned newspaper New Haven Register, the state’s second largest daily publication, axed Greg Hladky, a long-time and respected Capitol reporter. His layoff came as a stunning surprise.
It’s natural that print journalists are distressed about the trend of buyouts and layoffs that are changing the face of their own profession.
But it’s also an issue that businesses should care about because the public value of veteran journalists far outweighs their paychecks.
Experienced reporters often play an important role in setting the tone for the operations of the institutions they cover. Just as our federal government’s system of checks and balances tends to promote responsible political action and stability, aggressive watchdogs provide a healthy counterweight to the natural tendency of people in business or political power to overstep their proper roles.
Veteran journalists bring something to the table that their less experienced counterparts do not. Drawing on their experience, they know which rocks to turn over and which sources to ask when serving their vital watchdog role. They work hard to keep politicians and business executives on their toes to do the right stuff.
The seasoned pros also have the experience to spot a proposed bill that, while sounding great on paper, could dramatically increase the cost of doing business in Connecticut. New health care mandates, for example, aren’t free. It is critical to business owners that reporters report on and expose the implications of legislative proposals before they are enacted.
They monitor government, working hard to ensure that its operations are transparent for everyone. They report on how taxpayer dollars are used, pointing out abuses and achievements when appropriate. They ask government officials and highly paid corporate executives the tough questions about how their operations affect the general public.
For many decades, newspapers have provided a home for these watchdogs, nurtured them and encouraged them to develop into highly effective public servants.
But in recent years, the loss of market share to digital media has forced newspapers to strip their staffs. Those hit hardest are those journalists earning the largest paychecks, which, ironically, are at the low end of the spectrum of professional salaries.
So the question is, if the digital delivery of news is destined to end the longstanding dominance of newspapers, where exactly will the next generation of experienced watchdogs come from?
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments