Please, Read

My heart goes out to the many fine journalists who recently lost their jobs. It is sad evidence of the stupefaction of society when two of the best newspapers in the country, if not the world, are cutting staff due to poor circulation. What will happen to the Fourth Estate, the watch dog of democracy, as newspapers lose their individual voices?

The Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Times are laying off hundreds of journalists. 75 journalists were cut from the Inquirer... That's 15% of their editorial staff. The Inquirer's sister publication, The Philadelphia Daily news, lost 19% of its editorial staff. The New York Times cut 500 jobs, representing 4% of its workforce. And, the New York Times is the #1 online mass media publication for readership, according to Technorati.

As circulation declines, newspapers are losing ad revenue. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the impending closing of the venerable Strawbridge clothing stores don't help (See: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2005/09/19/daily22.html) Philadelphia. But, I wonder, what about pass-along readership. Doesn't that count? I know I sound desperate, but perhaps sponsored content and embedded advertising is the answer.

God help us copywriters, too. This harkens less advertising for us to write. Or at least, less money for the ads we do write.
But that's another entry altogether.

Thank you to one of my favorite WPHT radio talk show hosts, and Inquirer Columinist, Michael Smerconish for alerting me to this news. He mentioned FOX News ratings are up. More evidence what he called the erosion of the fourth estate. I call it the "Stupefaction Factor".

Granted, most Americans need news to fit into their crowded schedules. But, I implore my fellow citizens to please turn off the TV and start reading. When my TV was broken I personally experienced peace, contentment and more time.
We are taking the TV out of the living room. It's a huge effort to get my children off the couch when the boob tube is just a click away. They are constantly fighting over who gets to watch what, even though I've instituted an odd-even day system for which child has control. If it were up to me, I'd throw the thing out the window and yell, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"