— Musings —01.06.2014 04:44 PM
Kamloops Daily News
I am very sad to see them go. And not just because they occasionally published me.
It’s sad because the loss of every newspaper means our democracy is diminished, in a real and measurable way. In an era where fewer and fewer citizens are voting, the media – as I have been reminded, as I have pinballed between newspapers and politics over the years – are the only institutions left who can truly hold the powerful to account, on a daily basis. Now, yet another media voice is gone.
Idiot bloggers, and idiot politicians, will continue to be happy about this sort of thing. The former will say the disappearance of the so-called MSM means more audience for them. And the latter will believe that it means more opportunities to communicate to said audience “without a filter” (which really means without a pesky reporter getting in the way).
But bloggers only comment on the hard work of actual reporters. And the work of politicians won’t get noticed by voters, at all, if there isn’t a media there to report it.
Like I say, it’s a really bad way to start the New Year, across the board. Even if you don’t live in Kamloops, this sort of thing affects all of us.
I agree with you.
Some people would call such a development ‘progress’ or ‘evolution of the internet business model’. I think that’s not the case because I sense an increasing concentration of media power via the internet and a more divided set of offerings. Either you get your news and opinion from the Right or the Left, not much in the way of objective discussion. And not much in the way of ‘citizen journalists’ either, as predicted by some that was going to be a counterweight to provide more accountability.
I guess a problem is how to pay reporters to do the legwork and do reporting in digital media. 20th Century (and earlier) news media run by business corporations that make money off advertising can’t seem to do it anymore. Who’s going to pay for advertising in media where they cannot control the message? And it’s can be tricky to pay for it through government: I like RT and CBC, but I often suspect the choice and thrust of their stories.
“Either you get your news and opinion from the Right or the Left, not much in the way of objective discussion” – That’s exactly why newspapers are dying. The sooner they’re all gone, the better.
I’ll keep that in mind the next time you want me to approve one of your comments on one of my newspaper columns!
Heh. I never read The Sun. Cheers Warren. Say hi to Ritalin boy, he seems to be MIA, the prick.
Newsweek recently restarted a print version, albeit it may turn out to be more of a boutique model according to the NY Times.
The magazine would be ideal for Jeff Bezos’ fleet of delivery drones.
it is sad when a small local paper has to close its doors. these smaller enterprises usually do a fairly good job of reporting on the local news and publishing letters to the editor from local readers. When the exchange of information ceases, it is a loose for everyone.
It may be simply a case of not enough money to make a go of it anymore. B.C. is a have not province. We have the highest rate of child poverty in Canada. It is very hard for working people to make a go of it in life and one of the things people stop buying is newspapers.
More small town newspapers will close, as the economy continues to deteriorate here in B.C.
As a former Kamloopsian and provincial politics watcher, the shuttering of the Daily News is a tragedy. It’s not a “small local paper:” it serves a growing community of 85k plus and surrounding areas from Clearwater to Merritt to Salmon Arm. Kamloops has many pressing issues (e.g. Ajax mine, Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion) that need to be covered from a local perspective. While the paper has certainly gone down hill since the former editor and current Armchair Mayor handed over the keys to the printing press and Glacier Media took over, it tried (unsuccessfully) to cultivate an online presence. Lets hope Kamloops This Week, CHNL 610 and CFJC-TV can pick up the slack.
I lived in Kamloops for 4 years in the Eighties, and always thought the Kamloops Daily News was a first class paper…..sorry to see it go…….