JBD

REMOVE THE AUDIENCE AND THE HAMS WILL DEPART.

Mark Krikorian, NRO's "illegal immigration bore", laments the loss of metro newspapers because they fill a role that he finds essential - keeping local politicians honest. Here's the e-mail I sent him:

Hello Mr. Krikorian. Reacting to the imminent demise of metro newspapers, you ask:

You assert, as does Mulshine, that the departure of the local print journos will allow these organizations to be even less honest and accountable than they were. You liken the scrutiny of the press to the disinfectant of sunshine.

I disagree, respectfully, for several reasons: UPDATE BELOW

• The reports generated by the press are at best perfunctorily dashed-off highlights of no interest just to prove that the paper is serving the community, and at worst bowdlerizations of the actual proceedings, written to maximize controversy and readership. All these organizations publish minutes, which are easily reviewed at leisure by those who so desire. Bloggers who care will download the minutes and document any shenanigans far better and more honestly than any bored reporter.

• The light shined by the press is a spotlight for fame seekers, a porch light for ego moths. Without the thrill of being quoted in the paper, or having their pictures taken handing out contracts and awards, the preening blowhards who run for election to these boards will look elsewhere for notoriety. Those who stay despite the absence of news coverage will do so because they want to serve the community, not because they are looking to step up to higher office through grandstanding. Having seen the inner workings of several school boards, I know this is how things work.

• Unions typically use these meetings as theater, packing the crowd with t-shirted screamers. This may get them on the local TV news here & there, but without the clippings to feed the rank and file, and with no follow-up stories by sympathetic journos, they lose impact. Their staged demonstrations are reduced to one line in the meeting minutes: "Representatives of the classified employees expressed their disapproval of the proposed budget." instead of 10 column-inches of class warfare and sloganeering and a photo of overfed unionists sausaged into identical message t-shirts on page B-1
  

• Conflicting interests will keep these boards honest. Those who get hurt or screwed will go to court, where a judge sorts out the conflicts. Dishonest types who get caught won't come back, because they won't have the insulation news coverage to use as a shield and as a megaphone to amplify thier defense. How many times have we seen people convicted of crimes get re-elected to the same seats because of their media-fueled popularity? How many times have borderline psychotics made outrageous acusations and statements - duly parroted by the press - to cover their tracks or to cloud the issues? They can't survive on their merits, but with ambitious journos hungry for controversy, they can stir up enough trouble to drive the agenda.
  

• There will always be local throw-aways and shoppers which will provide as much local coverage as is needed to all who are interested, and at no charge. The metros are too bloated to compete at this level, and advertisers like the micro-targeting they get from throw-aways. Metros merely help egotists and agitators find a wider audience and up the ante by engaging sympathetic activists who have no actual local stake, but who are dedicated to the "Think global, act local" mindset, like our friends at ACORN.
  

The metros can't go away fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. Between them and the realtors, they cause most of the local mischief and unnecessary spending. Bloggers will fill in the gaps, and will be much more accountable and correctable. Ever try getting a correction printed in a metro, in the same location as the original mistake? Never happens.

I appreciate how well you cover the immigration issues for NRO. Hopefully we can use the current slump to fix the cracks in the border before the next upturn once again magically creates "jobs Americans won't do".

UPDATE: Krikorian's readers agree with me. Stick to wetbacks, Mark.

Posted by: JBD at 08:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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