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Cheers to a New Day Job and a Spirited Sentinel |
I’m writing this on Monday morning, my first full day as a consultant to the Sentinel, reporting to Janice Forbes and Bob Evans, the owners of this publication. At this moment in my life, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing because some of the greatest joys in my career have come in the world of print.
I especially love newspapers because they are truly complex, living organisms that require constant nurturing. There are few pursuits that are as demanding or relentless as succumbing to the brutality of newspaper deadlines. And then there is the issue of dealing with the sensitivity of both readers and advertisers, no matter what you say or do—no matter how diplomatic you seek to be—there is absolutely no question you will end up offending someone every time you go to press.
My assignment for the next two months is to conspire with my colleagues on the Sentinel staff to create new and compelling content categories that will help fill unmet information needs of our existing readers, as well as reach out to broaden our base along the I-80 corridor. We’ll be focusing on positioning the Sentinel as an alternative, must-read newspaper that concentrates on exposing issues rather than reporting hard news.
Since we share this town with a daily newspaper, there is limited value
in rehashing or repeating news stories that have already broken. There
is immense utility, however, in isolating a unique niche to explore
trends across Placer County and the greater region, as well as
communicate the rich cultural opportunities here that are just begging
to be experienced.
The Sentinel has been in business for nearly 20 years as many long-time
readers are aware, so you may be wondering why our management would
consider making changes now. The reason is simple. The newspaper
industry is imperiled because of competition from a wide range of new
media, but most conspicuous is the threat posed by the Internet.
Newspapers have lost untold advertising dollars and readers to the Web,
and every publication is desperately trying to establish new business
models to meet the challenges. For many newspapers, basic survival is
at risk.
Major market newspapers like the Sacramento Bee and the San Francisco
Chronicle are suffering mightily as ad lineage has plummeted like the
water level of Folsom Lake in mid-August. Real estate and new auto
advertising dollars have fled to the Internet; classified advertising
on Craig’s List has siphoned off another key source of revenue.
A final indignity is the impact of our nascent economic Recession (with
a capital “R”). Businesses large and small are cutting budgets and
companies that have already gone out of business or are in trouble
aren’t paying their bills. So, it’s scary time for everyone in the
print game.
Perhaps a larger, more fearsome issue is the fact that young people
just don’t read newspapers ... they get their news from the Internet.
And though many newspapers have successfully segued content to the
World Wide Web, few have a clue about how to generate any meaningful
revenue. Few have been able to crack the code.
So what’s a tiny newspaper like the Sentinel supposed to do in this
environment? How can it expect to compete? How can it expect to
survive? These are all questions that must be answered and answered
right now.
The late, great U.S. senator from Massachusetts, Thomas “Tip” O’Neill,
lives in immortality for his observation that “All politics is local.”
I would co-opt his thinking (as have others) and argue that “All news
is local.” Sure, most people pay attention to national and
international events, but in reality, it all seems so distant. It’s the
impact of those events, however—such as higher fuel prices or dead sons
and daughters borne home in flag-draped caskets—that is eventually felt
in every community, including Auburn and Loomis and Rocklin. We can’t
escape world events any more than we can reason away or ignore what
happens in our own hometowns.
So, that will be part of the new mission of the Sentinel: To
demonstrate how we are all connected in our little corner of paradise
by examining more broadly the issues that affect us here, from
transportation to land use to crime to the challenges facing our local
governments.
Editor Don Chaddock and his crew have already embraced this philosophy
with his recent “Closer Look” series profiling communities along the
railway from Lincoln to Colfax. We’ve got a number of other concepts
we’ll be considering in pursuit of making this publication more
inclusive and to embrace a more holistic approach to content
development.
From my perspective, a key certainty with the Sentinel is it will
continue to be vigilant in seeking the “truth.” My experience in this
town has been that all too often the local media shields readers from
the truth rather than informs them of it. Rather than maintain a
traditional adversarial role—or minimally, an impartial position—local
media all too often has a seat at the table with the agencies it
covers. When members of the press become too chummy with newsmakers, it
is bad for journalism and a disservice to readers. And that won’t
happen at the Sentinel.
Over the next 60 days, we’re going to assemble our best ideas and craft
a new incarnation of the Sentinel, a publication that will be produced
by the same people you have come to appreciate and trust. During that
time, we’ll share the plan with community leaders and our advertisers
to get their reactions. Then the Sentinel’s management will decide how
to proceed.
I’ll continue to write this column every week as the work continues. It
has been a long time since I’ve been employed by someone else, so that
may take a bit of adjustment ... but I know this for sure. It is going
to be big fun and one helluva ride.
And every night when the work is done, I’m going home and open a nice bottle of red wine.
Gary Moffat is a journalist and he owns Carpe Vino in Old Town Auburn. He can be reached at
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Oh, goody: A local businessman attempting to connect locals via a community newspaper. Now, Gary, you are The Man to pull this off. Go to it and best of luck. Loyce!