The demise of alternative print journalism has also produced a vacuum for people seeking news, creating the rise of independent online publications. Among the pioneers in the field are “Counterpunch.org”, “Tompaine.com”, “Commondreams.com”, “unobserver.com” and “Crisispapers.com”. An increasing number of people turn to such publications for their national and international news.
Ours is a time, perhaps more than ever, when we need a diverse press willing to ask hard questions and assign skilled reporters to do investigative journalism to uncover what is really happening in the United States and the world. Instead, the trends are toward the corporatization, muzzling, and censorship of the press to serve corporate profits.
This concerns John Anner, executive director of the San Francisco-based Independent Press Association, who commented, "News is expensive. Good reporters are expensive. People who really know the local political scene are hard to come by. The tendency is for chain publications to devolve toward relatively low-cost and low-controversy kinds of coverage that doesn't really deal with the hard issues."
Ours is a time, perhaps more than ever, when we need a diverse press willing to ask hard questions and assign skilled reporters to do investigative journalism to uncover what is really happening in the United States and the world. Instead, the trends are toward the corporatization, muzzling, and censorship of the press to serve corporate profits.
This concerns John Anner, executive director of the San Francisco-based Independent Press Association, who commented, "News is expensive. Good reporters are expensive. People who really know the local political scene are hard to come by. The tendency is for chain publications to devolve toward relatively low-cost and low-controversy kinds of coverage that doesn't really deal with the hard issues."