I've been lurking in the shadows of DailyKos for many months now, and thought it was time to throw my $.02 into the mix. For my first diary I will attempt to tackle the dismantling of Knight Ridder, corporate control of the media and what that means to our democracy. In the fine tradition of Loose Lips Lewis "Scooter" Libby, I will tell you that I am a
former mid level staffer for a newspaper group, somewhere in California.
A little background...
When Bush was making the Iraq/Niger WMD claim, Knight Ridder was the only major MSM newspaper group to call Bullshit! Recently KR was sold to the McClatchy group. McClatchy is (was) a smaller newspaper group and in acquiring KR, they bit off more than they can chew, so now they are selling some of the parts. Media News Group has put in a substantial bid to acquire some of the pieces.
A little on how MNG operates...
MNG already owns a large number of newspapers in the San Francisco/Los Angeles area. The front page and local sections might be a little different, but each of the papers is basically the same. They maintain one major center of operations to fill most the papers, maintain minimal staff in all the other locations to cover a little of the local stuff, and fill in the rest using the AP wire.
They can stretch a dollar far enough to cover the Bush administration's credibility gap. Office furniture is old, creaky and it smells. Office supplies are scarce and closely monitored. Travel/investigative budgets for reporters are practically nonexistent. The computers the reporters use are 6+ years old running Windows 95/98. Most employees will tell you that they are over worked and underpaid. Basically, they use typical Corporate America economies of scale to minimize costs and maximize the bottom line.
Why we should care...
I've read a lot of complaints and grumblings about the content and quality of the MSM's news reporting. From some posts, you might think that reporters have the Kool-Aid hooked up via IV, are sitting around the newsroom, rocking in a zombie like trance and muttering Republican talking points. Well, maybe you wouldn't think that, but I did. From what I have seen as a former mid level staffer, (who, by the way, has nothing to do with the content of the papers) I can assure you that the majority of writers I have met are thoughtful and idealistic individuals, that work at a newspaper because they want to make a contribution to their community.
Newspapers being run with a Wal-Mart like mentality means that there are less actual people investigating stories. More and more of the content is taken from the AP wire and official press releases. Lately, official press releases have turned into propaganda, or outright lies, so having less people doing actual reporting is dangerous. Those in power who want to control a message don't need to silence dissenting voices. They simply turn up the volume of their own message to drown out the truth. Molly Ivins makes this point more eloquently than I ever could.
What we can do about it...
Independent newspapers are disappearing because circulation is down, and they can't compete with Wal-Mart sized companies. Find a local paper in your area that you like and get a subscription. Consider it your daily vote to protect your democracy. The next time you have a garage sale, or have some other junk to sell, take out a classified ad. If you are a small business owner, consider taking out an ad in your local rag. They're cheap, and that's where newspapers make their money.
A well informed public is the bedrock of our democracy, so when we are misinformed that foundation crumbles and our democracy is in jeopardy.