The Houston Chronicle is a classic example of why newspapers are dying in this country.
Mr. Brady, it is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
E. K. Hornbeck (played by Gene Kelly) to Mr. Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March) in Inherit the Wind (1960).
Wisdom from a 63-year-old movie that many members of the 4th Estate should remember.
Over the years I’ve noticed the most (self-proclaiming) objective sources of information are actually the most bias of them all. I gather I’m not the only one, because readership of once highly regarded newspapers is greatly down, as well as viewership of many televisions news sites (ABC/CBS/NBC, CNN, etc.). All I can say guys, you’ve earned it.
I have a family member who is a now retired editor of a major city newspaper. In discussions with this person I’ve made the point, newspapers are an anachronism. “News” is by definition new, something recently occurred that you didn’t know. The fact is newspapers (except when sending out email or updating their web site) are sending out stale information.
I believed then and now, newspapers can make themselves relevant by providing more in-depth facts and analysis to their readers. Instant broadcast of news is one thing anyone can do. However, major papers are dying out because they will not adjust to this fact.
The local Houston rag, the Houston Chronicle, is a classic example. It’s daily readership (paper, not electrons) is down to 45, 000 issues a day. For a city of almost two-million that’s pretty lame. The fact it won’t adjust to make itself more significant is damming, and its selective “investigations” degrade any remaining faith in “objectivity” this rag has. A classic example is how it’s covering the crisis at the Houston Independent School District (HISD)
The Houston Independent School District is the largest in Texas, encompassing 276 schools and serving almost 200, 000 students. It is also corrupt, bloated, and an example of how any bureaucracy only serves one purpose: To insure its own survival.
In May the Texas Department of Education, by state law, seized control of the district. It replaced the entire school board and superintendent, who were elected office holders. A great question for a “journalist” to ask is why people who often don’t have children (or children in HISD) spend hundreds of thousands to obtain an elected position that pays practically nothing. An average of 33K a year. Could it be that the board members are simply trying to get a good spot to handle the tax money and obtain kickback from contractors? You would never know that from reading the front page (or editorial page) of the Chronicle. Hell, you would never see the question asked by the largest paper in Houston.
Fast forward to June, the state appoints former Dallas Independent School District superintendent Mike Miles to head the troubled HISD. How does the objective, non-partisan “news source” describe the man? As someone “known for pushing controversial reforms.” Like cutting the fat from the above school bureaucracies and improving teacher pay. At least they recognize he plans to increase the pay of educators:
Miles inherits a district in Houston beset by declining enrollment and a subsequent budget crisis, along with a sizable segment of families, teachers and local leaders who condemn this takeover as a politically motivated attempt to weaken urban public schools. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle editorial board, Miles said he plans to spend his first year focusing on 30 of the highest need schools, introducing a “fundamentally different staffing model” that sees average teacher salaries rise to $85,000, but positions like librarians being cut.
Since this article, Miles has cut 50 million dollars in third party contracted services, and is eliminating 2,300 positions in above school positions (roughly 25% of the school board administration). It looks like the man is reducing a massive amount of waste to fund improvements at the school level.
Now questions for a “journalist” to ask seem easy. What were these contacts (approximately 2.5% of the board budget) for? Who made the money from the school board contacts? Then ask who is running these firms, and, “Whom did they give political donations to?”
More clear questions for a “journalist” to ask of the politicians and other bureaucrats. What were these administrators doing for a living, and how much did they cost the taxpayer? Were they there to inject more leftist dogma into the curriculum of students in a failing school system? Were they just pushing paper from one desk to another? Very likely, but you would never see that asked from the Chron (I haven’t seen it in any of the other papers, or news stations. Not saying it’s not being asked, but I have not seen it).
Last week I sent a letter to the editor of the Chronicle, asking why their staff is not asking these questions. In the last 25 years I’ve had over a dozen letters published, but for some reason it was not printed. I think they were upset by being called out for their lack of curiosity.
Newspapers are on life support and they refuse to acknowledge why. “News” had changed from something that happened yesterday to things that happened by the time you finished pouring a cup of coffee. But publishers refuse to acknowledge their business mode is dead. They need to change or change will end them. And without a new business model based on truth, and serious inquiry into legitimate issues, it’s a matter of time before most papers join the ash heap of history.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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