News that Matters

Preface: Random musings and venting to follow. Slight persuasion included. Read at your own risk. I'm providing lots of links for those who are interested, and zero pictures, which is rather unfortunate. My apologies.

I’ve been pretty dismayed with the P-D lately, and think that many of its “new” and “progressive” changes are a load of crap. (The “Everyday” section should be just that – EVERY DAY – instead of woven into a different daily feature. It remains constant – the comics, advice columns, puzzles, and other bizarre non-newsy necessities. The daily feature should not be given an entire section, as it is a FEATURE, not the entire SECTION. Blah, blah, blah...I could go on, but that's not really the point here.)

I now direct your attention to the St. Louis Beacon (There’s a good Chicago Reader article that gives some of its background - I was too heated as I wrote this to find a better [local] explanation.)

FYI, the story behind name change from Platform to Beacon: the new online newspaper had registered www.stlplatform.org as its website and filed its nonprofit papers. SOMEHOW, the P-D decided to name its blog the “Platform” AND trademark the name (all the Beacon’s original papers had been filed). The P-D is NOT thrilled about this new possible competition, and is doing just about anything in its power to derail the Beacon.

Bill McClellan's April 14, 2008 column is a fine representation of the mounting disdain between the two organizations. While I frequently read McClellan's column, and often agree with him (or at the very least, respect his jaded perspective), I just can't help feeling like he's one more journalist jumping on the high horse headed out of town rather than supporting our city with its well-known, highly-respected journalistic history. When a Pulitzer openly strays away from the P-D empire to fund the organization of a new newspaper, there is reason to step up and pay attention. (Yes, I realize that Pulitzer sold the P-D to Lee Enterprises, but it's still the newspaper associated with the family name.)

In relation to this particular column, I have to say that McClellan probably has little fundraising and grant experience. Challenge grants allow an individual to encourage the rest of the community to join in - there is a higher probability of success when people join together as a community to take action. A single, large donation is wonderful, but if nobody else supports an idea through funding, the individual donation is worthless. Can Pulitzer afford to give more? You bet. Is she hedging her bet in the most strategic way? Absolutely. If you check out the Beacon's donation page and scroll through its list of supporters, you'll notice names encompassing some of St. Louis' most-respected individuals across all walks of life. In addition to prominent individual donations, the corporate and nonprofit partners stepping forward to lend their support also demonstrate a desire for change.

Check out the Beacon. Just take a moment to scroll and click your way through. I think it's unfortunate that the only available option is online, but when the cost of a daily paper steadily increases, maybe online access is one of the best progressive options to explore. It seems fitting in a world where blogging and internet chat rooms have taken the place of personal letter-writing and phone calls. (Though I must admit I have a slight obsession with newsprint, and would one day like to see the paper in hard copy.) If you agree that the Beacon is a welcome alternative to the P-D, let me know. If you don't, let me know that, too. I'm interested in hearing the various opinions on this subject (and I won't call you jaded for thinking differently, I promise).

Fun sidenote: On Mondays, the Beacon publishes “Nick’s List” which is written by one of my high school English teachers, Nick Otten. His column is a book and film critique (I was in his film club toward the end of high school). I have more respect for Nick than 99% of teachers I’ve ever encountered, and have him to thank for my current style of writing (which can vary greatly, I know). I also have him to thank for the fact that I can’t start a sentence with “It is” without hearing him yell at me. (By the way, Nick, that’s greatly inhibited my abilities in professional writing situations…)

I find the idea of a second, competitive St. Louis newspaper to be encouraging. Offering options to the masses is part of what makes our country great, and part of what challenges opponents to continue improving their ability to both provide and satisfy their target audiences. The Beacon offers that option, similar to the defunct St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Complacency has gotten our city nowhere, but an active attempt at change is taking the next step forward. While a new option may only be a small step, I like to think it's a step in the right direction of strengthening St. Louis.

I welcome any form of media providing me with news that matters to me as a reader. This became much more of a tangent than intended, but as the months and years roll by, I'm looking forward to see what happens next.

Edited to add: While I began this post earlier today, it's now 11:27 and I'm finally publishing. New goal - figure out how the hell to set my posting time to make it true to publishing time on Blogger.