Readers know about newspaper quality

NPR aired an excellent story this morning about how readers of The Des Moines (Iowa) Register are standing up and demanding a better newspaper. It’s like the story of the emperor’s new clothes: Everybody can see he’s not wearing any.

This reminded me of something I found a few days ago, an archived chat between Dallas Morning News (DMN) managing editor George Rodrigue and readers of his newspaper.

What struck me was the undeniable intelligence of the readers’ questions for Rodrigue. Here are a few examples:

“I cancelled my subscription after too many New York Times and Washington Post bylines starting showing up on the front page. If I wanted that perspective, I would subscribe to those papers.”"Since most people get their World and National news online from CNN or FOX News, why doesn’t the DMN focus more on local news, the one market they have the corner on?”

“Why are the majority of the local news stories almost always about negative events or about dysfunctional losers and the problems they cause themselves and others? Most of us do not chop our children’s arms off, drown our kids, kidnap people, commit crimes, or drive down the interstate shooting at people.”

“Why can’t I just get the sections of the newspaper that I want. I couldn’t care less about the Business section, or Metro. I just want the Sports section and the first section — the rest hits the garbage.”

“I think your Sunday paper is too big. Can’t you make it smaller?”

“Do you have subscription plans that would let me pick which days of the paper I want to get?”

“DFW [the Dallas airport] is writing its first clean air plan since 1999. There is a real controversy over how that can or will be done, including how to reduce emissions from the Midlothain cement plants. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is covering this controversy development-by-development because they still have an environmental beat reporter. The DMN has not run even a single story on this matter. Why doesn’t the DMN have an environmental reporter anymore?”

“I remember when the DMN was a major player, sending accomplished news teams to places that matter, not just to Plano and Richardson. I even remember when the DMN won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on Africa. What has happened? Why do we have to depend on out-of-town newspapers or their Web sites for some sense of what is going on in huge areas of the world?”

“I was impressed by the reporting in the special section about the city of Dallas. Are you working on any other investigative pieces that can help us taxpayers know where the money goes? I am especially wondering as I consider the next city election.”

To me, these questions explain a lot about why people are leaving newspapers and going to the Internet for information. It’s not because the public is mindless or obsessed with entertainment. It’s because the newspapers are failing to cover their communities and inform the readers from a unique local perspective.

Now people have a choice, so they go elsewhere. It’s that simple.

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