The News About the News---LIBN Takes a Look

My friend Adina Genn wrote about the state of local media, given buyouts, cutbacks and other things happening here on Long Island, and around the country, of course.

 She did a great job capturing the big issues of what happens when major players are diminished and what could fill the void.

Facebook comments and people jumping to conclusions about the news do not replace reporting, no matter how tempting it might be to just buy into the latest flippant remark. I saw someone commenting on a local community page the other day, complaining about a post and wondering how it would be considered news. And of course, it wasn't news. The post was a gripe about how someone had parked. So there is a blending, a slippage perhaps, in what constitutes news.

But I know people miss real reporting, just based on the emails I get asking me to find something out for them. 

Local publications, usually weeklies, have always done the school lunch menus, fire reports, obituaries, etc., but in the past, there's usually been a strong daily to get the big stuff. That's no longer the case, meaning the publications, whether print or digital, are often left to figure out what to do next--try to step up in to the gap left by the big guys or continue on as they have in the past. The jury is still out. It is annoying as hell to see out of town organizations pretend to be covering the local news (and no, I'm not talking about Patch.com) But that's definitely happening.