Some of the writers over at the Rocky have started a site, I Want My Rocky, dedicated to saving their newspaper.
Good luck with that. I doubt that those participating believe that they're doing anything other than sharing memories, more or less resigned to the demise of their beloved paper. A letter-writing campaign may have given us one more miserable half-season of Star Trek, but owners are more savvy now.
What struck me was the old-time, MSM-based orientation of the site. The stories linked to are almost all print or tv news sites. The important links are all legislators and Scripps, as though elected officials had been able to save the NY Sun. In the meantime, there's an appeal to something called the Newspaper Preservation Act, and a friendly reminder from the union.
There is, it appears no Facebook group, no twitter hash tag, There's a plea for links to stories about the site, implying no access to Google Alerts. There's no discussion of alternate business models, of the kids taking over the barn and saving the paper themselves, no talk of making an online model work.
The Rocky's demise isn't something to celebrate, it's something to mourn. I've gotten to know some of the reporters and columnists personally. I've no desire to see them unemployed. But this site underscores the somewhat blinkered thinking that has let newspapers get overrun by new media, and doesn't give much hope for change,
Good luck with that. I doubt that those participating believe that they're doing anything other than sharing memories, more or less resigned to the demise of their beloved paper. A letter-writing campaign may have given us one more miserable half-season of Star Trek, but owners are more savvy now.
What struck me was the old-time, MSM-based orientation of the site. The stories linked to are almost all print or tv news sites. The important links are all legislators and Scripps, as though elected officials had been able to save the NY Sun. In the meantime, there's an appeal to something called the Newspaper Preservation Act, and a friendly reminder from the union.
There is, it appears no Facebook group, no twitter hash tag, There's a plea for links to stories about the site, implying no access to Google Alerts. There's no discussion of alternate business models, of the kids taking over the barn and saving the paper themselves, no talk of making an online model work.
The Rocky's demise isn't something to celebrate, it's something to mourn. I've gotten to know some of the reporters and columnists personally. I've no desire to see them unemployed. But this site underscores the somewhat blinkered thinking that has let newspapers get overrun by new media, and doesn't give much hope for change,
