By R Thomas Berner
I’m a news junkie. I subscribe to at least six newspapers and receive free daily newsletters from others. Certainly, that’s overkill for national and international news but when it comes to local and state news, I can’t get enough from a single source. That’s how bad things are in the local news business—and it’s not for want of dedicated reporters trying despite the corporate owner.
I belong to the school of journalism that mandates coverage of local government
and schools. You write a story about the agenda of the next council meeting; you write a story about what happened at the meeting; you follow up on some things that were discussed but not voted on at the meeting. Plenty of local stories throughout the week and maybe an in-depth one for Sunday. In the sports section, you make room for all of the high school sports, even if it’s just a couple of paragraphs called in by the team manager.
Short staffed as it is, the CDT can no longer do that; in fact, hasn’t done it for years now as the staff shrinks and the institutional memory fades. Local coverage is so thin that some people I know in Bellefonte subscribe to the Lock Haven Express, which routinely covers Bellefonte council and school board and makes sure the outcome of Friday night sports events are reported in Saturday’s printed edition.
In addition to the CDT and the Express, I also read the Centre County Gazette and I follow the editor of statecollege.com on Twitter and recently signed up for his daily newsletter as well as Penn State’s. And the letters in the CDT are a mix of opinion and fact not seen elsewhere. Is it any wonder I spend two hours every morning just checking my news providers?
The dearth of state government stories no doubt pleases our elected officials for it keeps us in the dark about their shenanigans. If it weren’t for legal advertising, we might not know there are efforts afoot to change the state’s constitution that would set us back a century. If you want to stay up to date on what’s happening in Harrisburg, I recommend a $9 subscription to Spotlight PA. The news service provides in-depth stories you don’t see anywhere else. I also get Pennsylvania Capital-Star, which accepts donations, and PoliticsPA, a news aggregator looking for a sponsor.
What I really want, though, is a local newspaper well stocked with local and state government news. A print newspaper is probably out of the question. You need a press and a circulation department. Both are expensive.
But we could have a worthy electronic newspaper. I envision a subscription-based newspaper that publishes seven days a week and with deadlines late enough to carry stories on evening meetings and sporting events. I envision in-depth and investigative stories. Let no stone go unturned.
I’ve been in touch with a couple of my former students who are now experts in the field of online newspapers. They’ve offered me lots of good advice. The only thing they haven’t offered is money.
I used to joke that if I hit the lottery, I’d buy the CDT. But I now realize the only thing I’d really be buying is a somewhat empty building at Dale Summit. The corporation that owns the CDT long ago dismantled and sold its press. So I’m thinking we start fresh and the least expensive way is electronic.
My former students have advised me that my business plan is ambitious and might not attract a sugar daddy. But I want a thorough newspaper ready online every morning and that requires a cadre of reporters and editors (and I’d start by hiring the entire CDT newsroom) and subscribers.
I mentioned a sugar daddy. What I really have in mind is a non-profit organization. Beyond organizing a newsroom, I am out of my element. But somewhere somebody is listening. Call me.
R Thomas Berner is a professor emeritus of journalism and American studies at Penn State, a former State College Borough council member, and a former city editor of the Centre Daily Times.
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