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Monday, March 23, 2009
Boomer with Attitude / News Observer suffers even more cuts
Posted By John Grooms on Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 10:57 AM
OK, this stuff is getting scary.
It wasn't a secret that the Charlotte Observer was going to announce more cuts today, but the scope of the paper's slashing still comes as a rude surprise. The daily paper will lay off 82 employees — nearly 15 percent of its workforce — including 30 newsroom positions (19 full-time, 11 part-time). If that's not bad enough, 14 other fulltime newsroom folks have been "offered" reduced hours, according to managing editor Cheryl Carpenter, as reported on the Big O's website.
We've lampooned the Observer over the years, and at times we've blasted them for various shortcomings, but the bottom line is this: you cannot have a democracy without the solid reporting and investigations that only a serious news outlet with adequate funds can provide. As the American newspaper industry crisis not only shrinks the size of papers, but also threatens their very existence, there's more at stake than where you'll go to find your favorite comic strips, sports columnist, or local obits. There's the little question of who, or what, will be fill the role of public watchdog.
If newspapers really do fade away eventually, and with TV news reaching ever-lower levels of blood-soaked triviality, good luck finding out what's going on behind the scenes in your own city.
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