The Must Read, Don’t Want To Read, Journalists’ Blog

Mar 3, 2009 by winjaw

Jim Romenesko’s blog is probably the most depressing thing to read if you’re a journalist. He chronicles the world of journalism, and lately it’s not a a very happy place.

I’ve got a link to his column on my blogroll, and like almost every other current/former journalist, I click it every day.

There’s an interesting story on NPR about Romenesko and a look at the future of newspapers  here.

Of note:  For many readers who love newspapers, it’s a sad state of affairs. If you clicked on Romenesko — as the blog is popularly known — over the past few days, here is essentially what you saw: “Washington Post profit falls 77% in fourth quarter,” “Will Rupert Murdoch end up owning the New York Times and Los Angeles Times?” “Hearst says it will sell or close the San Francisco Chronicle if cuts aren’t made in a hurry,” “Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News owner files for bankruptcy protection.” And that’s only a few of the entries.

Sprinkled among the list of sick-and-shut-in big-city newspapers were notices of others that are ailing and failing, such as the 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News, which published its last issue Friday. And an announcement that the American Society of Newspaper Editors has canceled its 2009 convention in April because of stress within the industry. And a slew of raging debates about whether newspapers can be saved, where news will come from in the future and how it will be delivered.

Not a title anyone would want, but Romenesko has basically become the obit writer for newspapers, and by that, I mean the actual newspaper.

So, who’s depressed?