The Stranger’s Eli Sanders asks “How Did the Seattle Times Become a Local Media Villain?” and then does a pretty thorough job answering the question. In short, the Times has long catered to the fast growing suburban market, while the more urban P-I has better matched and served the interests of the city named in its masthead. Not a bad business strategy for the Times, I suppose, but hardly endearing to us city folk.
The Seattle Times also clearly became the more Republican/conservative of the two papers exactly at a time when Democrats were cementing their hold on Seattle and its close-in suburbs, with the Times editorial board reflecting (and at times, regurgitating) the increasingly anti-labor, anti-tax, anti-government ideology of its publisher. As former political reporter Neil Modie once explained to me, his Hearst-owned P-I actually had more editorial independence than the locally-owned Times because its absentee owners couldn’t care less about our state and local politics.
But Sanders is also dead-on in describing the print death of the P-I as a chance for the Times to recast its public image:
In a way, there’s an opportunity here for the Times. Right now, whatever the merits of the sentiment, the Seattle Times—the SEATTLE Times—is not seen by enough people as a true voice of this city. It wouldn’t take much, though, to start turning that around.
Sanders suggests the Times should start by leafing through the archives of their former rival, but I’ve got a more dramatic and immediate recommendation for Times publisher Frank Blethen: if you really want to send a message to P-I loyalists that your paper can credibly represent all the voices in our public debate, you should go out and hire yourself a bona fide, liberal shitkicker like… well… me.
That’s right Frank, give me a regular column… hell, give me a seat on your editorial board, and with it, your personal assurance that I have the freedom to passionately refute the opinions of you and my new colleagues, without fear of reprisal or the need to constantly look over my shoulders. Send a message to readers and the community at large, that the Times not only welcomes debate, it invites it, especially when it challenges the styles and orthodoxies of our media/political/business establishment. Send a message that you’re actually learning something from the Internet other than fear.
(And yes, after all I’ve said and written, I’d happily go to work for Frank Blethen; if I could cash a paycheck from the Church of Latter Day Saints, I’d certainly have no qualms cashing one of his.)
Yeah, I know, that’s not much of a cover letter, which I suppose partially explains my current employment status, so if you really can’t bring yourself to swallow your pride and hire me, then you should hire somebody like Sandeep Kaushik, who’d be just as interesting a read, but I’m guessing a tad more acceptable to your current staff after years of brown-nosing them on behalf of his political clients. But whatever. You get the point.
The Times does have an opportunity to woo former P-I subscribers, but that window won’t remain open forever, so now, Frank, is the time to send a clear, persuasive and loud message that you are willing to represent the views and sensibilities of all Seattleites, not just those of our stodgy ruling class. It is time to send the message that the Times is willing to embrace change.
And who better to send that message than your paper’s loudest critic?
Why should I buy Frank’s rag when I can read it free on the internet? Oh, and btw, I agree with the P-I’s business writer, Bill Virgin, that that’s a stupid business strategy. So, I predict it won’t be long before the Times joins the P-I in the newspaper boneyard.
As the late Emmett Watson might have said, Seattle is a lesser city today.
I’m all over this idea! How do we make it work?
Oh, and Mr. C, in case no one’s told you this yet — fucking goats isn’t a viable long-term family strategy.
Didn’t you write this same piece a year or so ago?
Hello.
I find it strange that you belittle the Times for going more conservative and suburban in it’s stance, while praising the P.I. for going more liberal and urban. I mean, after all, which one is still going? The P.I./Times situation is but a small part of the larger picture here. People more liberal want more liberal media, be it print, radio, or television. Yet when they are given them, they usually do poorly, like Air America, MSNBC, the P.I. I personally think the reason is this:
When an outlet is liberal, only liberal-minded people listen to it. If an outlet is conservative, BOTH sides listen to it. Why? Because then liberals have something to be mad about.. A perfect example is the whole Rush Limbaugh kerfluffle. I personally do not care for the man or listen to his show… but I am guessing there are a bunch of you on the left that do, so you can use what he talks about for ammo and soundbites to advance your cause.
To cut closer to home, look at 710 KIRO. Most of their remaining local hosts are more to the center, with some exceptions on both sides. And while you complain that there aren’t enough voices that ‘represent Seattle’ on it, ask yourself this: how many hosts that were on KIRO were conservative compared to liberal that are no longer on the air? I can think of maybe two off hand of the conservative bent who have left within the last 5 years, and several times that who were let go on the liberal side. It comes down to money. You may all not like Dori, but he makes them money, and people listen to him, especially people who are politically polar opposites to him.
And that is the bottom line with all of this. The media is not doing this because they care for their fellow man, they are out to make money, be it in viewership and ad revenues. The Times realized where there can be money made, the P.I. didn’t. Will I be sad for the passing? Yes, I have bought both papers every day for the last decade. But will I piss and moan about how unfair it is?
No. Love it or hate it, it is the way we operate.
Thank you.
@6 It’s far simpler than that. Republicans need to get their fix. Democrats have better things to do with their time.
Meghan McCain Recasts Laura Ingraham
After John McCain’s daughter opined that Republicans should seek compromise with Democrats, radio talk show host Laura Ingraham called her “a Valley Girl gone awry” and a “plus-sized model,” to which McCain replied, “Kiss my fat ass.” Now that’s my kind of Republican girl!
@7 Republicans have no tolerance. They don’t believe in democracy, negotiation, compromise, or give-and-take. It’s their inflexible ideology or nothing. So, I vote to give them nothing.
@8 I see that you got there first –
Speaking of the Great White Bloated Bloviator and his media cohorts, did Republicans ever get around to tossing Meghan McCain from the Bloated Bloviator-driven bus?
Circular firing squads. What an odd concept! Not that I mind when you folks do it, but I find it odd all the same.
re ^; I’m glad we left you behind. You come off like a pompous ass.
Kind of reminds me of ‘the Piper’.
10 Well, they’ve pretty well tossed John under the bus, as much as blaming him for losing the election by being “too liberal”. Presumably they’re sending his wife, his kids and probably any and all household pets along with him.
I see that the Bush stock market rally that is taking place during the Obama recession continues with another up day.
Republicans are so funny.
@12 As with David Frum, Kathleen Parker and other traitors to the cause, John, Cindy and Meghan McCain are really Dems who have been masquerading as Republicans.
Republicans are so easily fooled by Dems. No wonder they lost.
You folks are so damned busy defining everything in terms of political warfare that you’re missing the bigger point. Blethen did everything to kill off the P-I because he thought that would be the only way to save his own paper, for the same reason he moved his and his rag’s politics to the right. As it was, he was taking a risk of weakening his own business viability by making war on the other paper, and he no doubt didn’t anticipate the economy going in the tank right now, to say nothing of Craigslist and eBay killing the want-ad cash cow.
Now he’s looking at picking up maybe 50,000 of the P-I’s former subscribers, maybe even more, if they don’t bother to make that phone call. The problem is, people paying newsstand or subscription prices don’t pay his bills, and now he’s saddled with a larger press run, still no want ads, and he’ll likely have no luck trying to soak his display advertisers for any more.
Meanwhile, we have a variety of entities, from Goldy typing away in his fisherman’s gloves in his unheated house, to the Crosscut crew to the small group running the online ghost of the P-I (Presumably with at least some initial financial support from Hearst) all vying for the attention of an audience who’s mostly looking for a break from work or World of Warcraft or jacking off over cyberporn. Nobody’s really making any money, at least certainly not enough to put feet on the street digging up real news stories. They’re going to be linking to each others’ stories or stealing stuff from the TV stations, who’ll sooner or later get tired of it and start some copyright lawsuits. Meanwhile, every one of ’em will be filling storage and bandwidth with vacuous diatribes by people like us.
All in all, it ain’t a pretty picture.
Much rather the Times hire Parvaz than you Goldy.
seattlepi.com is linking to local blogs they think are worthy of attention. Attract their attention, and they’ll link to you, driving traffic to your site. seattlepi.com attracts a lot of eyeballs.
Since the PI was picking up 40% of the losses of the joint venture, by adding PI subscribers the Times will only increase its losses. Blethen’s predicament will only get worse. They are doomed.
Goldy, I was with you until your proposal to designate YOU as the resident Seattle Times liberal.
You are an important presence in this state’s blogosphere, but the legacy news media is a whole different animal. To be successful at the Times you really need to have more journalism trade skills. Are you willing to go get them, or is your ego too big to acknowledge that you even need to?
I don’t say that to belittle your aptitude as a researcher, writer and polemicist. I also don’t mean to suggest that the legacy news media has nothing to learn from grassroots bloggers like you.
You’ve accomplished a great deal, partly due to the sheer power of your own self confidence. However, it is possible to overplay your hand. I suspect that you just did.
@6 I stopped watching CNN when they played that conservative conference and then created that stupid mess with Rush.
I don’t listen to Rush or any of them because asserting a different model is not about arguing against that stupid nonsense.
But, then I am to the left of the normal ‘liberal’ borg…
I want information and well researched local news, not a bunch of opinions.
Pure jealousy, much like limp-dick and stalker Goldy; his inability to get laid (or keep a wife), hold a real job, and remnants of Ditzy….(ahem)….I mean Dary Burnout. Told ya so.
Enjoying your new improved P-I, Mr. Goldstein? The one that looks and smells like the Blethen Bugle? The one that picked up the slack that was dropped by the losers under the globe on Western?
It’s a good thing y’all like Krauthammer, because he’s gonna keep on coming, even to those of you who thought you’d always have Triple Chinz Connelly to kick around.
@2: And as Emmett Watson’s little dog might have said, ‘More Rabbit Meat, Please!’