Introduction
Welcome to the newspaper commentary section of Wenalway.
Let’s be blunt. The current newspaper environment is appallingly bad. The industry’s problems are myriad and far-reaching. This site will touch on many of them, but its main purpose is to show how the industry’s focus on page design, rather than good editing and smart, proactive strategy, has ensured its decline.
If you would like to comment on this subject or any others related to newspapers and writing, a guestbook is now active at the site.
As newspapers slash their staffs, they cling to the same failed ideas of the last few years. Somehow they believe cutting the editorial product will continue to lead to higher profit margins. On paper, this may be true, but over time the product becomes less desirable.
Even this would not be so bad if editors were smart about staffing. They are not. Too often, the underachievers stay and continue to be a drag on resources and productivity.
Worse, newspapers continue to trumpet the idea that they are sustaining a “noble profession.” They do this as the product is decaying. One tends to wonder if the people spouting these proclamations have read their product.
As this site develops, I will cite specific examples of newspapers and editors who say one thing as they do another. All of these examples will be backed up with facts, so the hypocrites of the industry will have to resort to “spinning” the details, as they often do, in order to contest them.
All in all, this should be fun. Come by and enjoy the ride!