Left In Lowell

I just read Frank Rich’s op-ed piece in Sunday’s New York Times “The American Press on Suicide Watch” in which Rich makes the point that if we want to receive news in whatever format, we will need to pay for it, otherwise journalism will cease to exist.

He writes “… if a comprehensive array of real news is to be part of the picture as well, the time will soon arrive for us to put up or shut up. Whatever shape journalism ultimately takes in America, make no mistake that in the end we will get what we pay for.”

Rich is right, quality journalism requires financial support. The new media, including bloggers, fulfill only one portion of the need to be informed and engaged in public life. In recent discussion with friends, I predicted that this coming municipal election will be the last one the Sun will influence. The newspaper as we know it will not be around in 2011. There will be something there, a bi-weekly or weekly newspaper as well as a web site, but not a daily newspaper that acquires its income from advertisement.

If that is the case, how will the real journalists get paid? I am not talking about those who sit at their desk taking phone calls from their agenda-driven, inside sources or those who lunch with self-proclaimed power brokers, no I am talking about the journalists who go out everyday get the facts and report them with little or no prejudice.

What may work is what Rob Mills, the Sun’s crime reporter, is already providing the newspaper, both the hard copy and the web site. He blogs, tweets, has a facebook account, takes pictures and videos for their web site and of course, writes the story for the paper. He is, in effect, a one person media outlet. Would Lowellians pay for all of this information on crime and safety if it was not free? I think yes. But would we pay for articles, those that lack drama but are essential for a prosperous and flourishing democracy? Citizen journalists will only get us so far; we better find the formula that will work and find it quick.

The clock is ticking loudly.