The Sky Is Falling

Well, it was nice having the Post Intelligencer around for as long as we did. We're very much in favor of two-paper towns (two dailies, two weeklies, whatever) because we like to think that they keep each other honest. The P-I has been trending a bit to the left lately (is that true?) and it would have been great to see two major papers on opposite ends of the political spectrum in Seattle, but alas... Our media consolidation radar is pinging like crazy after we read today that the Seattle Times will not be renewing the contract of the outside freelancer who was covering the Joint Operating Agreement between the Times and the P-I.

It seems a little thing. One man, Bill Richards, covered the agreement between the two papers to share costs and profits, and now he won't be. You probably can't remember reading an article by the man. Here's one from November, 2005. In the article Richards reports that circulation for the Times and the P-I are dropping and suggests that the Times blames its agreement with the P-I for those drops. Then he points out that circulations around the country are dropping and circulation drops are not actually particular to the Seattle Times. After Bill Richards is gone it will fall to Seattle Times staffer Eric Pryne to write those articles. We're sure Mr. Pryne is a fine reporter, but unlike Mr. Richards he will have an editor who is employed by the Seattle Times. That editor will also have an editor who is employed by the Seattle Times, as will that editor, and so on. How many Seattle Times editors will a story critical of the paper make it through? If the Times is acting in violation of the JOA how likely is it that Eric Pryne will be able to report it accurately? And why is the Seattle Times not renewing this contract?

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By Dan in News on December 28, 2005 2:31 PM

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Phil

I'm with you on feeling fortunate to have two dailies in operation. I've always felt that the P-I was decidedly left of the Times. The Times shilled for the Iraq war, the P-I didn't. It was also the P-I that bugged the shit out of Dixie Lee Ray when she was the best Republican governor the Democrats ever elected.

As for the effect of losing the JOA-beat reporter, I'm thinking the Hearst corporation is capable of defending itself and of calling attention to any transgressions by the Times.

It was interesting here when the JOA went down. The publisher of The Weekly, David Brewster, was its most vocal opponent. He felt that they two dailies should fight to the death, leaving a void for The Weekly to fill in the aftermath. He also fretted about monopoly effects on advertising rates. History lesson for ya!