Newspapers are in a tough spot. Advertising keeps shrinking. Classified ads which used to be a gold mine are now replaced by Craigslist and Monster. International and national news is way old by the time we get our paper since we get it instantly on the web and the cable news channels (or the Daily Show if you're under 30).
The Daily Camera has done an amazing job of reacting to this. Do we get detailed coverage of every little story in town? No. There's no way that can happen with their budget. But we do get strong coverage of the big stories and decent coverage of the medium stories and that is an incredibly valuable part of our local democracy.
Speaking of the two reporters who have written on stories that I was heavily involved in, Amy Bounds and Ryan Morgan both do a great job. Do they write the story the way I would? No. Do they draw the same conclusions I would? Only sometimes. And both of those questions are irrelevant as to if they are doing a good job. What I have seen is that every big issue and almost every medium issue is reported, and reported fairly in their articles.
Then we have the open posts on the Camera website for each article. Yes those posts attract more than their fair share of loons and anonymous cranks. But they also provide a forum for everyone to discuss an issue, and to do so immediately. Yes a lot of the posts are people shouting past each other. But a lot are also reasoned discussion. And in a surprising number of them, the signal to noise ration is quite high.
And finally we have Clint Talbot. Yes I wish he was a bit less establishment. But he is a strong, reasoned, thoughtful voice on the editorial page. And the fact that he tends to piss all of us off about equally shows that he is charting an independent, open-minded course.
So congrats & thank you to the Camera.
And to those of you that want Clint fired every time you disagree with him, want the story size and placement to always match your judgment, want the Camera to turn down any ad you find offensive, and find a grand conspiracy in each of those issues - watch out, the black helicopters are coming to get you!
