Digital First Media, and its handlers at a New York hedge fund called Alden Global, are facing a rising tide of rebellion in its newsrooms--and should be. Because the suits have been milking newspapers dry in pursuit of ever-higher profits at the expense of their local coverage, the very quality that makes them worth reading if you, Gentle Reader, are interested in finding out what's going on in your community.
Talk about killing the goose that lays the golden egg(s), the masterminds in charge of Digital First have reported an operating profit margin of 17 percent, well above many other newspaper chains. And any of its editors who dares go public with complaints may soon enough find himself a former editor.
The trust between editor and reader is a precious if not unique thing, and once lost cannot be readily regained. Agree or disagree with your local editor, his--or her--integrity can't be replaced by figures on a balance sheet. It is intangible, yet it pays off in readers' and advertisers' dollars and cents. We who seek and respect your judgment, Dear Reader, are sure to be rewarded, which makes this newspaper game more than just another business.
Last fiscal year, Digital First Media & New York Co. raked in profits totaling almost $160 million. It's a valuable commodity, integrity, even if no one can put a price on it. Digital First's owners are selling their very heart and soul for nothing in the end but passing profits. This can't go on indefinitely and surely won't. But try telling that to short-sighted owners and managers. They're not listening, but soon enough they'll have to wake up to the moral realities of life. It may not be possible to shame Digital First into doing the right thing; those who make the decisions in DFM's front office are proving shameless. And they won't be the first company to try selling their soul only to find out that nobody wants the much damaged thing, as it's been so undervalued by those who should have treasured it.
Wiser souls may be mobilizing to save what's left of Digital First's name, including outspoken editors. But instead of applauding them for their courage and vision, the powers that be at DFM are cracking down on the dissenters in their ranks. Case in point: DFA fired Boulder Daily Camera editorial page editor Dave Krieger for taking a stand in favor of old-fashioned integrity, And when the article he wrote about this mess was turned down he published it online instead. You just can't keep a good editorial page editor down.
Brother Krieger explained why he'd been driven to take his brave stand and paying the price for his coverage: "The grounds for firing me I would have understood in the traditional sense was the claim that I disparaged my employer. I certainly did that, although it was in defense of my immediate employer, the Camera, that I disparaged its private equity owners. But this is one of those cases where the very essence of what we are about comes into play. When do we serve our readers, and our obligation to tell them what's going on? When do we stand up for telling them the truth? When do we quit covering for the unaccountable hedge fund we work for?"
In short, when does even a vast communications empire like Digital First have to decide that the time has come either to fish or cut bait? And the same tough question could be asked of other communications empires like Sinclair Broadcasting. It may be only a matter of time before they, too, face the same fiscal and moral pressure being exerted on Digital First. Maybe they can all ride out this perfect storm of events, but surely the piper must be paid eventually. And in the same coin he's acquired by acting as if this gravy train will never halt. There is still a law of moral compensation in human events, and it is bound to be evoked in this case. The only question is when.
Now is the time for all good readers to come to the aid of their local paper, radio station or other source of real, unfiltered and undoctored news.
Everything has an Arkansas angle. Even stories about inside baseball editorial writing and brave editors fighting off the vulture capitalists who take over their business, as if it was a burger stand. As we were putting together this editorial, word came that Chuck Plunkett had resigned as the editorial page editor of The Denver Post.
Chuck used to work here. And not just for a little while. He was here years as a reporter. And moved up the ranks to become a top editor in Denver. He wrote an unusual editorial last month. Unusual in American newspapers because it (1) took a stand, and (2) took on his bosses. He blasted the hedge-fund owners of the paper. After another reportedly sharp-edged editorial for the paper was turned down by some executive type, he quit.
Bravo! It's a time-honored tradition among editors, resigning for mere reasons of honor. And what could be more honorable than pointing out that hedge-fund operators are poor owners of newspapers, and force terrible business models on the community?
We remember the empty suits at another chain who'd come through the newsroom (in another state) with PowerPoint presentations and "QUALITY" banners. These people were straight out of Dilbert. And they insisted on calling the paper The Product, which would have gotten them beat up in the less enlightened days before corporate-speak came to newspapers. And because their owners, their stockholders, didn't even know they owned newspapers, the suits planned to milk their properties without regard to anything long-term. And did. And you should see the results.
Actually, you shouldn't. Here's to local newspapers, with owners who actually know they own them.
You're reading one now.
Editorial on 05/07/2018