A (news) paper cut can go deep

I know I’ve belabored it, another post about a silly newspaper. In a town I’ve only been in a few years yet. Wall Street crumbled and I hardly even blinked an eyelash, GM might go under and I shrug, but now my eyes keep spilling over as I read the last print edition of the Seattle Post- Intelligencer, the P.I.

I know I’m harping, but it seems no one else is. Which makes me even sadder. I’ve been leafing through the last edition, and the history that the paper has been a part of is awe-inspiring.
There’s an episode of “Seinfeld” where Jerry tells a woman that his friend George Costanza is a marine biologist. George exclaims “But you know I’ve always wanted to pretend to be an architect.”

I myself-I’ve always wanted to be a journalist, and I'm sorta pretending to be one now. Had I not been so lazy when I was younger I think I would have tried a lot harder to get into print or broadcast news.

(One of my all time favorite movies, “Broadcast News”…the part where Holly Hunter unplugs the phone and cries hysterically than goes back to work…. I can relate. )

But for me, there was also a glamorous glow in newspaper writing. I don’t know where I got that feeling, but I think I’ve always felt that way.

I feel bad for the PI employees who had to go. Some of them, 10, 20, 30 years on the job. I know what it’s like to be in an extremely specialized field.

I remember trying to get a “real “ job in New York City. I was registering with a temp agency and the recruiter went over my resume with a black Sharpie, obliterating 10 years of my life. She reduced my radio career to whatever “administrative” or “managerial” work I had done, insisting I include nothing about being on-air, which she said would hurt my chances for getting a job.

She slashed and cut, and a piece of me went too. I left the building to sob on the corner in the pouring rain, realizing I didn't have enough money to get a hot dog AND get the bus back to Jersey. That’s when I realized radio was no longer payin’ they bills, the mean ol’ Sharpie lady was right.

It’s ironic that the very part that was cut is the very part that people are fascinated with. My friends, family are always like “my friend used to work in radio” It doesn't matter what I’ve done after. That will be the defining time of my life. It can be exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.

So I do empathize with the PI peeps. It’s hard to adapt to “civilian” life. I don’t think I ever really have. I truly wish them all well in their future endeavors, and hope they don't run into too many recruiters who are brandishing Sharpies.

And I think the kids today; they don’t know the glitz of the daily’s. The well written thought out news stories, in-depth articles, thought provoking opinions. Instead, the cynical "short attention span" generation gets all it’s news from a bunch of yahoo bloggers. Yes, present company included.

There’s a picture on the front page of the last PI issue that’s showcases a quote from Thomas Jefferson gracing the walls of the P.I building:

“Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."


Here here!

Seattle PI put to bed

The Seattle PI is no more! Tomorrow, March 17, 2009 will be the last edition. It's so sad, the demise of a paper.

As I mentioned last week, I've only been a Seattle resident for a short time, but anytime a journalistic empire goes under is cause for dismay.

Songs of the Day:
In honor of the PI

"Sunday Papers"-Joe Jackson

"Second Hand News"-Fleetwood Mac

"News of the World"- The Jam

Would you believe that's all I could find??!!

Why I picked the P.I

When I was a baby DJ, the Internet was still just a gleam in the eyes of many a tech geek. News came down the old fashion way, from the AP news wire. Show prep (in civilian terms, that means prepping for your show) was done in the most archaic fashion, pulling it from the wire and reading the newspaper.

I’ve always been a big fan of the newspaper. I enjoy the feel of scratchy paper and rubbed-off ink on my fingertips. I grew up reading the Detroit papers, the News and Free Press (The Freep had better comics, that’s all an eight year old cares about.) Many a day was spent pouring over the pages, not understanding what I was reading sometimes but overjoyed at the prospect of what I might learn.

I wrote for my High School Paper (The Blue & White!) and my college paper for a short time. I was torn between going into broadcasting or print journalism. I had given up my kindergarten ambitions of being an actress or the Queen. I went with, what I thought at the time, was the safer bet-radio. (Yes, that’s a whiff of sarcasm mixed with irony)

At any rate, as I began to move around the dial I’d grab my locals every day-The Lima News, The Akron Beacon Journal, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Buffalo News. And when I moved to NY/NJ It was like a newspaper junkie’s dream come true; it was the land of a dozen papers. The Star Ledger, The Bergen Record, The New York Post and the gray lady herself The New York Times. All could be easily folded and read on the subway. And all had a special place in my heart for different reasons.

My newspaper Jones doesn’t diminish in my travels. Of course there’s always the USA Today, which I have to say isn’t the worse thing I’ve read. I’ve picked up The L.A Times, The Miami Herald, and The Chicago Tribune, even the Las Vegas Sun. Wherever I’ve been I’ve perused the local paper.

So, you can imagine, moving to Seattle and leaving my East Coast stable of papers behind was a little daunting. I was somewhat mollified when I discovered Seattle was a two-paper town, The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post Intelligencer. With a JOA in place that is sort of like Detroit’s, the Sunday paper is a combo of both. The dailies are a bit different and unique, and it took me awhile to decide who was going to have the honor of gracing my doorstep. Call me a loon, (and many do) but opening the door in the morning to the newspaper at my feet is one of my most favorite things. It doesn’t take much for me, and my husband is constantly grateful for that.

So how to pick? The P.I’s office is right down the street, with an old school “Daily Gotham” like globe spinning atop the building. At first I didn’t really know where the Seattle Times office was, but I knew they didn’t have such a hip rooftop ornament. The P.I name was more unique; different from any paper I’ve known. The Seattle Times…well around here they’re “The Times”, and I thought at first people were referring to the only paper that will ever be just “The Times” to me…The New York Times.

In most towns, you have the conservative leaning paper and the liberal leaning paper. In Seattle, there’s the liberal paper, (Seattle Times) and the really liberal paper, (Post-Intelligencer). I don’t normally pick a paper for its politics. There are certain ascetics I’m drawn to- like layout, lifestyle section, and various syndicated columns. The New York post is ultra right, but I love Page Six. The New York Daily News has better sports. The Bergen Record was more about North Jersey and had a much better layout than the more popular Star Ledger.

And the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has better comics. Yes, the eight year old won. Not to mention my husband liked the sports section better. And I also liked the layout and lifestyle sections.

But now, just like that, The Hearst Corp. is cuttin’ the P.I loose. No more printed word, only a glowing, cold online format. I’ve been through format changes, I’ve been through staff changes, but I’ve never worked at a station that ceased to exist.

And the sad thing is, most people don’t care. Most people don’t read the dailies anymore. The ‘net is a great place, and yes I get most of my news from it these days. But it just feels like an end of an era. You can’t really fold up the ‘net and read it wherever, or tear out a recipe out or cut out an article.

And it's really hard to read the comics online.

My happy thoughts go out to all the P.I people who are cut lose. As you compete for the same jobs I’m going for now, just know that you'll persevere, you will pull through. Hopefully.

And at least some of the time, you’ll at least think you’re recovering. ☺