the news is dead
You might have missed this story, a big one in my opinion, CBS News Radio shutting down after nearly a century on the air, marking end of an era
I recall my Deputy Director at King County Office of Emergency Management saying that if she heard CBS Radio News carrying news about a disaster we were involved with—it was a big one and getting national attention.
That era is coming to a close per the story above. It is not just CBS Radio that is taking a hit. Newsrooms, especially in print publications have been under assault and reductions for a number of years. Even very large metro papers are not exempt from staff reductions.
Then, there are so many changes in how people get the news. I’ve taken to asking people I come in contact with how they get their news. The answer is a bit terrifying. The responses range from, “I don’t follow the news.” To, my boyfriend tells me what I need to know (that was from my PhD Physical Therapist last week). Or, almost as bad, “I get it from social media.” Which might mean they are getting 250 word snippets on what is happening.
Not too long ago I had this Disaster Zone Podcast: Turmoil in the Media The description of that podcast goes like this, “We are at a point in time where the media universe is in complete turmoil. Legacy media like radio and television is fading, while social media in all its forms is ascendant. News and commentary are being mixed together so people can’t discern which is which, while major media conglomerates are merging and reforming. The purpose of this podcast is to understand all the changes that are in process.”
Finally, I read the following obituary for Newsrooms, printed below. It is a perspective from the reporter’s point of view. The people-side of interest in the news dying. And, if you are not familiar with Al Jazeera America, it had a short life. What I do know is that they went on a hiring spree and scooped up very talented reporters who I knew and had worked with previously. They were not a “fly by night” organization, but they did not last long.
This story is about dead newsrooms
A producer stood up in the middle of the newsroom and said loudly, yet with a hollow echo, “AJAM is dead.” iNews business alert sounds confirmed the news: Al Jazeera America announced it was shutting down.
It was the first time I heard of a newsroom dying. Maybe I read trend stories about newsrooms shutting down. Maybe I wrote those stories. Maybe I’ve experienced layoffs.
But this was different. I knew so many people working in that newsroom. My first boss. My first friend in journalism school. My first friend in a newsroom. They all worked at AJAM.
The survivor’s guilt shuddered through the newsroom like an Evil Dead shaky cam. There was a death in the family. National newsroom revolving-door employment culture meant everyone knew someone who had been laid off.
I used to book conferences for the New York Press Club. My panels always look positively toward the future of journalism. I refuse to plan journalism funerals. My panels celebrate new and better ways of telling stories.
Organizing for Wikipedia, I brought that same positivity. My planning conversations with Micah Loewinger helped prepare him for the crowd. “Journalism conferences feel like a funeral,” I said, “Wikipedia events are like a close family cookout. Every nerdy corner of the internet is represented. These are my people.”
My first family is hurting right now. I worked for CBS Radio News longer than any other newsroom. As the New Media Liaison, I spent half the time editing TV content for radio. The other half of my calendar was filled with meetings at all corners of the broadcast center.
That newsroom felt like home. They gave me an opportunity to learn new programs, meet helpful connections, and take time off to get married. Moreover, after they laid me off, I received more severance and healthcare than in any other newsroom.
The bonds I formed with colleagues at CBS Radio News were so strong that it felt like losing a phantom limb when I heard it was closing down. I know those Herculean headline heroes will land somewhere soon. Their stories taught me how to tell a story. Their edits taught me how to edit. Their employees reminded me that the future will be brighter with them in it.
When working in the journalism industry, I never have to say goodbye. I only say, “See you in the next newsroom.” Newsrooms die all the time, but their stories live on forever.
