Insightful comments, thank you. Polistra, I agree, there are many examples of the local Power Elites owning the local newspaper and pushing their own agenda. This is where competing newspapers played a role. As for local influence, I personally don't see how national policies affect me much: trade wars, minor tax cuts, Fed rate cuts, etc., have little impact on my life. How local politics collects and distributes funding of infrastructure, parks, police, schools, libraries, etc. matter a great deal more than what amounts to posturing on the national stage.
Charles, I too value Big Name reporters, but they rarely collect information from primary sources--they're using info and data collected by others. How much of this is actually trustworthy requires more digging than most commentators have the resources to do. So Big Pharma funds studies from apparently reputable labs that turn out to be mills generating "results" that support what benefits Big Pharma.
The gaming of data is a serious problem, as only real investigative reporters spend the time and energy necessary to check the processes and statistical analyses that can be subtly gamed to generate the desired results. Who's paid to do this grunt work? Do the Big Names have a staff to do this primary-source digging? ProPublica is doing good work IMO because they actually pay people to be investigative journalists.
I am concerned about censorship, too, as I've been censored and continue to have readers send me evidence of this--my posts on Facebook cannot be reposted, etc.
Quite frankly, I see very little real primary-sourced reporting in social media and alt-media. It's as if we've collectively lost sight of basic journalistic standards and processes, because 1) they're expensive and 2) they can't be sensationalized to generate big profits in our "Attention Economy."
Yes, I'm skeptical and cynical, but I see an erosion of our collective ability to distinguish between "primary source journalism" and content / data drawn from sources nobody seems to know much about. In a world increasingly dominated by spin, it's getting harder to find any truly trustworthy wheat amidst the chaff. warm regards, charles
I'm not convinced that local journalism makes a difference. When I moved to Spokane in 1990 I was a regular Clinton-type Democrat, so I generally agreed with the local paper's bias. I subscribed for a while then gave up because they devoted most of their energy to mocking and insulting the local yokels. The paper was owned by the same family that owned much of downtown, so it never questioned the council's decisions. Later a Republican talk radio station got a serious campaign going and replaced one of the corrupt councilors, then the remaining members scandalized him, forced him out, and appointed their own choice. Nothing changed.
CHS - A thought-provoking post about the disappearance of journalism... thank-you. You didn't speak about censorship, which I believe is a very big part of the disappearance of traditional journalism. Much of this journalism work has shifted on-line rather than via the traditional paper-based newspaper. Now we have Substack reporters (like Naomi Wolf), and podcast reporters (like Joe Rogan). There are many others who I applaud (such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.). I believe the new-style reporters are doing an excellent job, and in fact they may have a much greater impact on politics and community affairs in the long run than local newspaper journalists ever could have, and that is because they are taking on big issues which a local newspaper journalist could never have the time to address, or the resources to defend when the lawsuits start (such as political corruption at the national level). I believe the truth still matters, and that there are a lot people out there who really genuinely want to know the truth (it's not all about money and ego). By subscribing to your Substack, for example, I show I am one of those people, one of those who wants to get to a deeper understanding that what the social media sites push to us. Thank you for being one of those people who believes there is a deeper truth that needs to be told. We can't make successful constructive changes in our society unless we know the whole truth, unless we know exactly where we stand now.
Christian Kallen is the name of the local reporter here in Healdsburg. I do like his writing. When Dr. Jill Biden came to Healdsburg for a fund raiser, Kallen wrote a great article about it.
A: He called Dr. Jill "Vice President." LOL.
B: Kallen named the winery just north of town where the event was held and the cost of attending the fundraiser. There are lots of rich Democrat winery owners around here. Bill Clinton came to the Jordan Winery outside of town years ago for another fundraiser.
C: Kallen had a photo of Dr. Jill getting off of her private jet at the Santa Rosa airport.
As an aircraft mechanic all my life, I know the cost of flying on a private jet across the country. To make a profit, Dr. Jill would have had to raise at least $500,000 at the winery fundraiser.
Good article. CHS is a good journalist. As he points out in the article, he gets the facts from all sides of an issue and he looks for the money. Who benefits?
Here in Healdsburg, CA we have a small newspaper called the "Healdsburg Tribune". I call it "The Spittoon." The main reporter is a retired journalist and he does a pretty good job of covering local events with wit and subtle humor.
I did complain to him about his latest article on Affordable Housing in Healdsburg. The price of housing here is astronomical, so, of course, the City Council Commies are demanding all new developments in town have Affordable Housing unit.
The reporter never defined what this mythical beast called "Affordable Housing" is. What are the numbers? The money is always the heart of an issue.
Insightful comments, thank you. Polistra, I agree, there are many examples of the local Power Elites owning the local newspaper and pushing their own agenda. This is where competing newspapers played a role. As for local influence, I personally don't see how national policies affect me much: trade wars, minor tax cuts, Fed rate cuts, etc., have little impact on my life. How local politics collects and distributes funding of infrastructure, parks, police, schools, libraries, etc. matter a great deal more than what amounts to posturing on the national stage.
Charles, I too value Big Name reporters, but they rarely collect information from primary sources--they're using info and data collected by others. How much of this is actually trustworthy requires more digging than most commentators have the resources to do. So Big Pharma funds studies from apparently reputable labs that turn out to be mills generating "results" that support what benefits Big Pharma.
The gaming of data is a serious problem, as only real investigative reporters spend the time and energy necessary to check the processes and statistical analyses that can be subtly gamed to generate the desired results. Who's paid to do this grunt work? Do the Big Names have a staff to do this primary-source digging? ProPublica is doing good work IMO because they actually pay people to be investigative journalists.
I am concerned about censorship, too, as I've been censored and continue to have readers send me evidence of this--my posts on Facebook cannot be reposted, etc.
Quite frankly, I see very little real primary-sourced reporting in social media and alt-media. It's as if we've collectively lost sight of basic journalistic standards and processes, because 1) they're expensive and 2) they can't be sensationalized to generate big profits in our "Attention Economy."
Yes, I'm skeptical and cynical, but I see an erosion of our collective ability to distinguish between "primary source journalism" and content / data drawn from sources nobody seems to know much about. In a world increasingly dominated by spin, it's getting harder to find any truly trustworthy wheat amidst the chaff. warm regards, charles
I'm not convinced that local journalism makes a difference. When I moved to Spokane in 1990 I was a regular Clinton-type Democrat, so I generally agreed with the local paper's bias. I subscribed for a while then gave up because they devoted most of their energy to mocking and insulting the local yokels. The paper was owned by the same family that owned much of downtown, so it never questioned the council's decisions. Later a Republican talk radio station got a serious campaign going and replaced one of the corrupt councilors, then the remaining members scandalized him, forced him out, and appointed their own choice. Nothing changed.
CHS - A thought-provoking post about the disappearance of journalism... thank-you. You didn't speak about censorship, which I believe is a very big part of the disappearance of traditional journalism. Much of this journalism work has shifted on-line rather than via the traditional paper-based newspaper. Now we have Substack reporters (like Naomi Wolf), and podcast reporters (like Joe Rogan). There are many others who I applaud (such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.). I believe the new-style reporters are doing an excellent job, and in fact they may have a much greater impact on politics and community affairs in the long run than local newspaper journalists ever could have, and that is because they are taking on big issues which a local newspaper journalist could never have the time to address, or the resources to defend when the lawsuits start (such as political corruption at the national level). I believe the truth still matters, and that there are a lot people out there who really genuinely want to know the truth (it's not all about money and ego). By subscribing to your Substack, for example, I show I am one of those people, one of those who wants to get to a deeper understanding that what the social media sites push to us. Thank you for being one of those people who believes there is a deeper truth that needs to be told. We can't make successful constructive changes in our society unless we know the whole truth, unless we know exactly where we stand now.
Christian Kallen is the name of the local reporter here in Healdsburg. I do like his writing. When Dr. Jill Biden came to Healdsburg for a fund raiser, Kallen wrote a great article about it.
A: He called Dr. Jill "Vice President." LOL.
B: Kallen named the winery just north of town where the event was held and the cost of attending the fundraiser. There are lots of rich Democrat winery owners around here. Bill Clinton came to the Jordan Winery outside of town years ago for another fundraiser.
C: Kallen had a photo of Dr. Jill getting off of her private jet at the Santa Rosa airport.
As an aircraft mechanic all my life, I know the cost of flying on a private jet across the country. To make a profit, Dr. Jill would have had to raise at least $500,000 at the winery fundraiser.
Aren't politics fun.
Good article. CHS is a good journalist. As he points out in the article, he gets the facts from all sides of an issue and he looks for the money. Who benefits?
Here in Healdsburg, CA we have a small newspaper called the "Healdsburg Tribune". I call it "The Spittoon." The main reporter is a retired journalist and he does a pretty good job of covering local events with wit and subtle humor.
I did complain to him about his latest article on Affordable Housing in Healdsburg. The price of housing here is astronomical, so, of course, the City Council Commies are demanding all new developments in town have Affordable Housing unit.
The reporter never defined what this mythical beast called "Affordable Housing" is. What are the numbers? The money is always the heart of an issue.
Drives me nuts.