![]() In terms of content, reporting, editing, the mechanics of production, and delivery, the newspaper struggles more and more. It has not led to an increase in circulation, which has declined for several decades. Purchase by USA Today/Gannett may have benefitted the Dispatch financially, although that’s not clear. Not long thereafter, the expanding USA Today/Gannett network purchased the Dispatch along with a number of other Ohio newspapers, magazines, and digital news sites. The failed experiment ended after several years without explanation. This was an austerity move that the editor never addressed, maintaining unconvincingly that it was designed for readers’ convenience. It fell into a steep decline, epitomized by its shift to a ridiculously small size that readers alternatively mocked by referring to it as a lining for a cat litter box or a bird cage. When I first moved to the city, the Dispatch was a mediocre daily. ![]() Another is the almost weekly increase in pages of advertisements and the difficulty in maintaining the newspaper’s layout as a result. Cox’s book is one of an unusually small number of serious, documented works on the city.) One continuity is its editor-in-chief’s own appointment and his commitment to “enterprise journalism,” a nebulous, even self-contradictory term. (See Kevin Cox, Boomtown Columbus: Ohio’s Sunbelt City and How Developers Got Their Way. This kind of conflict distinguishes the newspaper throughout its history and continues with its place in a large media network. It continues to promote corporate and real estate development uncritically. Now 150 years old, the Dispatch was long the property of the Wolfe family, who saw no conflict between their activities as property developers and city boosters, and the operation of their city’s principal daily. I have witnessed a roller-coaster of journalistic and commercial ups and downs and published opinion essays and letters to the editor. I have read the Columbus Dispatch since I moved to Columbus in 2004. In retirement, I read three dailies including two national editions. From college, I subscribed in every city where I lived. Since childhood, I have avidly read my city’s daily newspaper(s) and the Sunday New York Times. ![]() This is not, and has never been, the function of the Columbus Dispatch. The best newspapers provide both a constructive critical voice and a forum for responsible airing of differences among members of the local population. It unites its readership in shared information, which is the potential for building a community of discourse and exchange. Readers viewing this essay online may no longer recognize or appreciate how important a city’s daily newspaper is.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |