Pessimistic print journalists and Connecticut's solution

A new survey is out stating that online journalists are more optimistic about journalism than those in print and TV... not exactly a novel revelation. Of course they are more optimistic; relative to their size, online-only or mostly online outlets are by and large outperforming debt-burdened newspapers (take for example the success of Politico, where web revenue is fast catching up to revenue from the print edition.)

Online journalists are also more optimistic because they are on the right side of the publishing divide. As I work on this project, I've been struck by how often people blur what seems to me a clear separation between journalism itself and the publishing medium. Newspapers came to be synonymous journalism simply because the print product was at once the distribution vehicle and the financial backbone of an entire news ecosystem. Now that newspapers no longer hold a publishing medium monopoly and never will again, it's no wonder print and TV journalists are down and out.

Problem is that an online journalism world in its infancy can't be expected, at least right now, to magically replace an centuries-old print infrastructure. That'd be crazy. Nor do we want to reinvent the wheel and do away with the solid news generating operations at newspapers and television stations. So what to do (I've just restated the crux of the issue but now you know my take on it)? Enter a good idea out of Connecticut, where the Tribune Company announced plans to combine the operations of the Hartford Courant and local TV stations WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV.

Trib. Co.'s COO Randy Michaels says in news release:

"This is the future of media. Whether in print, over the air, or
online--the delivery mechanism isn't as important as the unique, rich nature of
the content provided. Bringing these media properties together will enable us to
bring more resources to our news coverage, improving and expanding what we can
offer readers, viewers and advertisers in the area."

It's PR speak but he is dead-on about the delivery mechanism. And housing all three news operations together is a solid business move that will cut costs and attract advertisers. Sadly coverage will probably suffer, but in the fight to stay solvent, it's the lesser of two evils when the alternative is closing up shop entirely. The decision also hands Connecticut's old media a competitive edge against online local news start-ups like CTNewsJunkie. I'll be interested to see if news organizations in other states follow suit.