Death of news print

[goldenvalley]

We know the number of local newspapers has decreased over the last 20 years.  My local paper is part of McClatchy News which bought out the Knight Ridder chain in 2006 at the worst possible time.  It's been downhill ever since for the newspaper industry.

On Tuesday the chain fired three Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonists, including Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee.  I think some of you knew his work from Portland Oregon.  Some would say it's only cartoons but I've found a good editorial cartoon captures a moment in a way that no printed column ever could.

Even in a field accustomed to scores of layoffs in recent decades, the triple hit Tuesday sent shock waves through the newspaper cartooning industry.

Speaking as president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, Ohman told The Post by phone Wednesday: “This is just another brick in the wall” of continuing layoffs in the field. “But we haven’t had three Pulitzer [cartoon] winners go out the door on the same day before.”

Ohman said he was “stunningly blindsided” when informed of his firing. “I don’t know what to make of it,” he added, noting that he was the only Bee staffer to be laid off.

“I felt like I had been T-boned at an intersection,” Ohman said of his Tuesday morning firing over Google Meet. “Devastated.”
Ohman won the cartooning Pulitzer in 2016, Siers received the prize in 2014 and Pett won in 2000. No traditional full-time staff newspaper cartoonist has won the Pulitzer since 2017.

The Bee responded to a Post request for comment Wednesday by sharing a statement from McClatchy opinion editor Peter St. Onge, who wrote that its two cartoonist firings were part of a “continuing evolution” by parent company McClatchy, which will “no longer publish daily opinion cartoons.”

“We made this decision based on changing reader habits and our relentless focus on providing the communities we serve with local news and information they can’t get elsewhere,” the statement said.

I've kept my Bee subscription for years, wanting to support local journalism.  But I've watched it drop local news in favor of wire stories.  I get better information about what's happening in the CA legislature from the Los Angeles Times.  Reading the Bee, you wouldn't know Sacramento is the state capital.  One friend retired from the paper recently after watching person after person be laid off and then fired in the name of saving money.  Now that Ohman is gone, I probably won't renew my subscription.

[pnwguy]

Jul 13, 2023 6:00:07 GMT goldenvalley said:

We know the number of local newspapers has decreased over the last 20 years.  My local paper is part of McClatchy News which bought out the Knight Ridder chain in 2006 at the worst possible time.  It's been downhill ever since for the newspaper industry.

On Tuesday the chain fired three Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonists, including Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee.  I think some of you knew his work from Portland Oregon.  Some would say it's only cartoons but I've found a good editorial cartoon captures a moment in a way that no printed column ever could.

Even in a field accustomed to scores of layoffs in recent decades, the triple hit Tuesday sent shock waves through the newspaper cartooning industry.

Speaking as president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, Ohman told The Post by phone Wednesday: “This is just another brick in the wall” of continuing layoffs in the field. “But we haven’t had three Pulitzer [cartoon] winners go out the door on the same day before.”

Ohman said he was “stunningly blindsided” when informed of his firing. “I don’t know what to make of it,” he added, noting that he was the only Bee staffer to be laid off.

“I felt like I had been T-boned at an intersection,” Ohman said of his Tuesday morning firing over Google Meet. “Devastated.”
Ohman won the cartooning Pulitzer in 2016, Siers received the prize in 2014 and Pett won in 2000. No traditional full-time staff newspaper cartoonist has won the Pulitzer since 2017.

The Bee responded to a Post request for comment Wednesday by sharing a statement from McClatchy opinion editor Peter St. Onge, who wrote that its two cartoonist firings were part of a “continuing evolution” by parent company McClatchy, which will “no longer publish daily opinion cartoons.”

“We made this decision based on changing reader habits and our relentless focus on providing the communities we serve with local news and information they can’t get elsewhere,” the statement said.

I've kept my Bee subscription for years, wanting to support local journalism.  But I've watched it drop local news in favor of wire stories.  I get better information about what's happening in the CA legislature from the Los Angeles Times.  Reading the Bee, you wouldn't know Sacramento is the state capital.  One friend retired from the paper recently after watching person after person be laid off and then fired in the name of saving money.  Now that Ohman is gone, I probably won't renew my subscription.

I fondly remember Ohman from his long years here at The Oregonian.  His drawing style was unique and appeared crude to many, but his biting satire rarely missed the target.  

The arrival of Craigslist as a free place for local advertising was the first nail in the coffin of local newspapers, since that was such a bellwether revenue source.  So much of news gathering is more expensive than consumers want to pay for directly.  It really hurts local and state political coverage, because having bodies to report on and spotlight local political leaders is about the only thing that keeps grifters and ideologues in check.

[goldenvalley]

Jul 13, 2023 15:46:13 GMT pnwguy said:

Jul 13, 2023 6:00:07 GMT goldenvalley said:

I fondly remember Ohman from his long years here at The Oregonian.  His drawing style was unique and appeared crude to many, but his biting satire rarely missed the target.  

The arrival of Craigslist as a free place for local advertising was the first nail in the coffin of local newspapers, since that was such a bellwether revenue source.  So much of news gathering is more expensive than consumers want to pay for directly.  It really hurts local and state political coverage, because having bodies to report on and spotlight local political leaders is about the only thing that keeps grifters and ideologues in check.

Lack of classified ads was the first nail in the coffin...lack of auto dealers running big ads each week was also a problem, at least for the Bee.

Ohman is great. (Here is the online announcement from the Bee. One line followed by cartoons from the past.) He replaced Rex Rabin, also a Pulitzer Prize winner, who died well before retirement age.  Everyone was thrilled to get Ohman here. He was also senior associate editor of the Bee as well as editorial cartoonist. That job also ended for him. Too bad. I met him at an editorial board meeting a couple of years ago...he was smart, curious about lots of things, a student of human nature, very well read, and appropriately cynical for a newspaper person. His work is syndicated so it shows up in other non McClatchy papers and that will continue if he wishes to.