I rant a lot about journalism. So many articles in many newspapers in this country are just one step up (if that) from tabloid journalism. This problem becomes even more obvious when you notice that a major bank fails in this country - IndyMac was taken over by Federal regulators on 7/11/2008 - and the major newspaper here barely mentions it. The same day the major newswires are producing a number of articles on the problems with Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac - more fallout from the real estate bubble - and this only gets a short article in the local paper.


I begin to suspect that the problem here is one of misunderstanding who makes up your core audience. The population of the metro area here has grown by about 1 million people in the last 30 years. That kind of increase brings in a larger pool of educated people, yet the local paper seems to continue to aim it's coverage at the least educated; in effect they "dumb down" the news. Case in point is the lack of coverage on the IndyMac debacle. Not front page news but buried in the business section after 7/12. Can't let people know what's going on when it's far more important that they know about the new Batman movie or the that the local gymnast broke her leg and can't go the the Olympics. Don't do any real research or find an actual news story because that might require work.


I guess I shouldn't be surprised, after all some of the local reporters don't do their own research anyway, they just call the library. Then they have the nerve to complain that the library only directed them to sources and didn't just give them the answer. It makes me wonder if "journalists" in this town are just a bunch of 8th grade drop outs who still think that a "homework help" line will do the homework for them so they don't have to bother.