Boston Globe staffers Maria Sacchetti and Eric Moskowitz checked public reaction to news that The New York Times is threatening to close the Globe if the paper's unions don't accept $20 million in concessions.
Personally, I loved the quote from longtime Globe reader Daniel Doyle, 70: "What's going on?"
Great question. Unfortunately, that's a question that's bouncing around the private sector, not the public sector where the public and media have force of law such as FOIA to help flush answers.
Newspapers, especially the Times, don't have to show their cards behind their threat. As righteous as they can be and ought to be on newsside, newspapers' business side is just that -- business. Tight-lipped, poker-faced business. And the cash to keep it that way. They operate as close to the chest as possible -- just like government would love to do and tries to do but fails now and then here and there because of a nasty adversary: the news media.
Honestly, the newspaper meltdown has reached a point where I'm beginning to seriously ask: Are corporate newspaper owners abusing the opportunity to go lean? Are newspapers being scaled back to '50s staffing levels and beyond and expected to meet 21st-century demands and potential? Are the same money-grab character flaws that created the mess we're in still at work in the newspaper industry?
Mr. Doyle may not realize it, but he's asking a question that, truly, no American wants to wind up asking because there isn't enough media around to do the asking for him: What's going on?
As with political campaigns, we're hearing a lot of rhetoric and few details. But nice try, Mr. Doyle. Thanks for asking. Just don't expect a good answer anytime soon.
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