Sensible conservatives celebrating the imminent demise of the mainstream media — particularly daily newspapers — would do well to cork the champagne, sweep up the confetti, and put away the party hats. Because until some new business model emerges to fill the information void that’s left when a newspaper dies — so far, the Internet is not that business model — you’re going to know less about the workings of government and other public institutions. And don’t think for a moment that politicians, bureaucrats, and their interest-group allies are unaware of this development.
Granted, I’m not a disinterested observer. Until Friday, I was part of the “MSM,” an editorial writer at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. The state’s oldest newspaper, we were less than seven weeks shy of celebrating our 150th anniversary. The economic meltdown, along with declining circulation and the collapse of local advertising revenue (some $100 million in Denver vanished over the past several years), sealed the Rocky’s fate, making Denver a one-newspaper town.
Our editorial page was political but nonpartisan — we were clearly on the right side of the spectrum, but we did not offer endorsements in partisan general-election races last year. Our goal was to view issues through the prism of our principles — promoting a dynamic market economy, personal and fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability in government — rather than focus on personalities or party affiliations.
But I’m not merely going to lament the loss of another local conservative voice. Instead, I want to caution conservatives who think the end of what they see as the local left-wing fish wrap is a good thing.
This kind of sentiment is fairly common. Consider this comment from Rocky web commenter “jeslovyouandme”:
They just don't get it. Liberalism in the media and a liberal biased media loses every time. I got so tired of the junk and trash they were calling reporting I also canceled my subscription. Get rid of turkeys like [metro columnist Mike Littwin] and others like him and report in an unbiased manner, the truth, and maybe the Rocky Mountain news will come back. I expect the Denver Post to go next, hopefully so. Only good can come of this.
The simplest response to this particular reader is that he or she is wrong. A columnist is not simply a reporter and, in fact, is supposed to offer opinions. But there’s a broader argument here that many other intelligent conservatives have put forth: Liberal biases and agendas taint a lot of straight-news writing, and the demise of newspapers will put an end to that.
Not so fast. When newspapers die, a public watchdog is buried with them. And for now, nothing else can be counted on to take up the slack.
Newspapers pay people to sit through endless city-council and land-use-planning and legislative-committee hearings, enduring the sausage-making process that is modern government. These reporters tell readers what’s going on and — when they’re at their journalistic best — what it all means. They take the trouble to analyze court decisions and search government records and decipher regulatory filings and pore through leaks from public-spirited civil servants.
They don’t get every story right, and they’re often captives of their sources. But even reporters who are lazy or incompetent or hopelessly compromised provide an irreplaceable service. They keep self-government possible, perhaps even manageable, at a time when the state is growing ever larger and more difficult to understand.
Some conservatives have championed the Internet as a balanced alternative to faltering liberal dailies, but thus far, web journalism is not ready to take up all the slack. Many local bloggers do great work, but few engage in original reporting, and even fewer report full-time. The reason is simple: Blogs — particularly blogs devoted to local politics — are seldom profitable enterprises. Plenty of writers are willing to give away their opinions for free, but picking up a phone (much less attending government meetings on a regular basis) is a different story. When blogs “replace” newspapers, reporting suffers.
The bottom line is: Until somebody figures out a new way to make money by providing information — a way to truly replace newspapers — the government will have a sizable advantage over the people it’s supposed to serve.
— Rick Henderson, editorial writer at the Rocky Mountain News for its final three years, publishes the Deregulator blog.
