The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, once the crown jewel of the South when it came to print journalism recently announced it will continue to pull back in the areas it distributes its print edition in. (The AJC pulled out of Banks County some time ago.) It’s only the latest round of such announcements which leave the print edition available to fewer and fewer people.
It’s sad to see what this once mighty prince of journalism, respected across the country, has now been reduced to. This is one instance you can’t blame it all on the current rotten state of the economy, although that does factor into it some. No, the big-time publication based in our state’s capital has been falling and falling fast for some time now.
Growing up, the AJC was a must read for me. It helped inspire me to become a journalist. The paper’s team of reporters and photographers were unmatched and something I could only dream of being a part of.
The paper’s sports section was something I literally could not miss a day of. I grew up near Macon, but the AJC was available there, just like it was in every county in the state back then. In fact, even our state’s border didn’t restrain the publication’s reach as you could actually see AJC boxes in neighboring states as well.
My, have times changed or what? The powers-that-be at the paper now have not been able to get through their heads that you can’t put everything on your website for free. You also can’t throw long-time, award-winning reporters, columnists and photographers out the door and expect people to continue reading. It’s not that hard to comprehend, but it seems beyond their grasp.
So we have reached the point where the 2009 version of the AJC is truly a shell of its former self. The paper does continue to limp along, but one has to wonder how much longer it can continue to do.
I foresee the paper eventually going to a website exclusive publication eventually. It has already happened with some big-time dailies across the country. Of course, this means more reporters will be cut in the name of saving a few bucks.
However, you will also see less and less of the award-winning investigative journalism which set the AJC apart for so long. Who will keep an eye on state politicians? Who will keep an eye on the company which pours pollutants into the environment? Who will stand up for the people of this state?
One wonders how much the powers-that-be in charge truly pondered these questions before making all these boneheaded decisions. Obviously, they weren’t pondered long enough.
It’s a sad day indeed when an institution dies right before your eyes. It’s even sadder when it’s done through numerous bad business decisions. Of course, that seems to be the rule of order these days, and not just in the big-time newspaper business. For the AJC, however, there likely will be no government bailout nor should there be.
Chris Bridges is an editor with Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail comments about this column to chris@mainstreetnews.com.
Come on Editors find a issue that at least poses a small point of interest to the folks in Banks County.