Vanishing in Thin Air

Vanishing in Thin Air

As a member of the media, with 33 years in marketing, advertising and journalism, I have seen lots of change in our business, and now I think we are at a crossroads.  There is a need for real news crafted and created by professional journalists asking the right questions, reporting the FACTS and creating trust in the world again.  Fake news, sensationalism, bias and fabrication are unfortunately now part of the American landscape.   When people use unknown and unreliable sites on Facebook and Twitter to educate themselves on what is happening in their communities and in the world, we have a problem.  It is creating a huge divide in our country. 

To that point, until we as community citizens and leaders realize that we must support the very fabric that lends itself to true real news, we will continue to see the fate suffered by many news institutions across America.  This subject was spurred by a recent article about an iconic news weekly in New York, who will cease publishing this year.  They have been reporting news and information to their community for 63 years.  They are not the first nor will they be the last.   

http://adage.com/article/media/village-voice-iconic-nyc-newsweekly-shutting/314793/?utm_source=daily_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1536409506&utm_visit=635125

Unless businesses and communities support their local news media Radio/Newspapers by spending their advertising dollars locally we will continue to see the demise of local news outlets.  The very people who are constantly asked for FREE advertising and the very people who keep elected officials and others accountable for their actions; who keep citizens safe during storms, power outages and natural disasters, who support local events and non-profit organizations and the very people who produce business news, supporting all local businesses.  These organizations are not a group of independently wealthy stock holders who can continue to support losing propositions.  There are not pools of money sitting around to pay news people when the business model is not supported.  Radio, TV and print media rely on commercial business advertising to pay their bills; to make payroll; to be able to donate time and resources to their communities.  This model is changing.  If people want local news in their communities, they have to be willing to support it. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-05/local-news-is-dying-and-it-s-taking-small-town-america-with-it?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

So give it some thought the next time you’re looking at advertising choices and remember that if you want to keep local news alive in your community, you have to maintain support for those organizations.  Social media and giant search engines are not going to cover the city council meeting, they are not going to report on the high school football games that happened over the weekend, they are not going to be there in storms, power outages or natural disasters and they are not going to be there to cover a local business opening or ribbon cutting.  You can affect the choice and change of where we go as a community and as a nation. 

Until next time………..AdHacker