The Report Debuts

Cleveland, August 11, 2008: Welcome to The Report, my attempt to give you a different set of questions with which to understand what's going on.

It is no secret that the American media is in crisis. Newspapers are ever thinner, with news "holes" shrinking as they try to compete with television and the Internet. Many American cities have only one newspaper, and the lack of competition is telling. Why hustle to get more news, more in-depth reporting (what we used to call "enterprise" reporting), or ask the tougher questions than the other guy when there is no other guy?

Television news shows grow "happier," (except in covering the latest weather scare), with on-camera anchors smiling even as they report tragedy. You know, "we're on your side."

I don't want a reporter on my side. I want a reporter who gives me the news, who asks the tough questions or, at a minimum, the questions no one else is asking.

Radio news (with the exception of NPR) has become vapid, offering just headlines and not much more.

To be sure, news is a business and the mainstream media outlets are hurting. Space and time are so severely limited that pack journalism means predictable coverage of issues and events. Editorial biases creep into news stories because reporters talk to themselves instead of several outside sources, and a disinterested public grows ever more ill-informed about issues that may soon impact their lives in perhaps dire ways.

But what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Are news outlets shrinking because readership is dwindling? Or is it the other way around?

An alternative to the mainline media is a blog. Telling the good blogs from the bad is not easy, as so many anonymous comments turn news items or commentaries into arguments that have nothing to do with the original piece. Critical thinking disappears when hot heads go after one another through a blog's comment section. It is very easy to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet and blasting anyone or any idea that might pose a challenge.

The Report is a blog but its intent is serious journalism, including news and commentary.

A bit of history. I was a newspaper reporter for 10 years, cutting my teeth at the Elyria, Ohio Chronicle-Telegram, which at that time (1970s) competed vigorously with the Lorain Journal. I later worked for the Sandusky Register and Toledo Blade before my wife and I started Capitol News Service, an Ohio news syndicate covering state government for 10 daily and two weekly newspapers.

The 1970s was the heyday of investigative reporting. A colleague and I won four major journalism awards for uncovering the theft of $3 million in motor vehicle registration fees.

In short, I consider myself a serious journalist and, in time, I hope you will too.

One final word. The Report welcomes comments -- not personal attacks or foul language. But to do away with the anonymity, I want to know who you are. Send your comment with your full name, city or town, and e-mail address. Only the full name and city will show online. In my view, if you have the courage to make a statement for public consumption, you should have the courage to stand up to it.

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