LA Times' Shaikin on MLB.com, dearth of newspaper beat writers

You're not an idiot. But your enmity clouds your judgment.

 

Enmity towards what? I don't dislike the LA Times or Shaikin. It's just a topic which NOBODY outside the journalism field gives a rat's ass about. If you cut the last five or six grafs, it would make an interesting piece for CJR or some other journalism forum. Could probably start a nice thread right here. But it was aimed at the LA Times sports section readership. And missed.

 

Why not ask the readers what they want?

 

I can argue the point.
Readers don't understand. They don't understand the difference between the mlb.com report or an latimes.com report or a blog opinion based on either report. And, pointing out that difference, what makes an independent voice different from a " house voice" or an opinion made from afar is a valid point.
Pointing out you're a service that provides information without ties is pointing out the worth of your craft. The worth of your profession.
The lack of understand of that difference...that lack of understanding of that worth has led to some of our devaluation.

 

Newspapers have done a lousy job defining their independence for the last 25 years. Through their singular devotion to stockholders and margin, they've devalued the product all by themselves. And if newspapers haven't valued their own independence, why should the readers? Most people take the source of their information into consideration, whether it's a blog, a Wall St. Journal editorial, NFL.com, the company newsletter or the local rag that has increasingly let advertisers creep into the editorial product. A patronizing attempt to "educate" the readers isn't going to change anything. They know what they're getting when they open the local newspaper: Less than they did before in terms of both quality and quantity.

 

Take a look at the comments (which i know aren't representative, often times, of society) on one of the house ad type stories on mlb.com, or on a lighter take on a bad team, and you'll see that the fans realize the slant on those stories. it surprised me, actually.

 

My prior statement holds true:

Failed attempt? A miss? I can understand. There was nothing patronizing about it.
That column was one column in a 10-page playoff preview section.