Are print newspapers still relevant in Georgia Politics?
I cancelled my subscription to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution this morning. I read everything online and I’ve noticed the annoying pile of unopened papers sitting by my front door. With all of the information online, why do I need to keep giving them my money just so I can throw it away?
When the customer service rep asked why I would want to give up all that information and Sunday coupons, I responded I don’t use coupons. But in truth, I’m a savvy internet marketer. I find tons of relevant coupons online everyday – from groceries to vitamins to franchise restaurants. I get all my technical information from the interwebs – Facebook, Twitter, Fox, even AJC.com
The only items worth reading are political stories by Jim Galloway and he posts his stories instantly on Facebook and Twitter. I certainly don’t read the AJC commentaries as the editorial staff is full of wacky liberals with no clue outside the perimeter.
I feel bad as a former journalist for contributing to the demise of print newspapers but I just don’t see how they benefit me anymore.
So, I ask you, political pundits, candidates and others, are newspapers relevant any longer? Do you still heavily rely on endorsements so you can’t give up on them? Besides the occasional breaking news story about candidates, are the cash-strapped newsrooms still effective in Georgia Politics?
June 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
The only real reason they have any more relevance than the blogs is because they have the paid staff to go out and dig around, which is something the vast majority of blogs don't have.
For example, even though I can examine Ox's claims about getting more votes than any Democrat in 3 of the past 4 elections (which I did this morning), the AJC can dig around and find out that he received more than 10x the legal maximum campaign donation from a single donor, and uncover that he and this donor have quite a long history together.
But yeah, other than the investigative stuff, blogs/facebook/twitter is the best option.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I stopped subscribing to the AJC a few years ago, when I woke up to the fact that print media, like so much other, is no longer "news" but propaganda. Bread and circuses controlled by the corporatocracy employing the product of the liberal journalism educational establishment is what is fed to us on a daily basis. The talking head, wall street muppets are the most transparent. This is why the internet is such a threat: they no longer control information. The bashing Ron Paul received made it obvious that the message of liberty was a threat to TPTB. Today we hear nothing of HR 1207 or S 604 audit the fed bill, nor about the illegal usurper now occupying the oval office. We don't get "news", we get 1984.