Christopher Hanson, writing in Columbia Journalism Review recalls his time as a reporter at Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a paper with no pulp it in.
He says it’s “no accident” that Hearst is experimenting with a paperless paper in Seattle, a coffee shop rich, high tech city, (even though Hearst has said nothing about attracting new readers and advertisers to the online-only edition). Hanson also reflects on the important news that his old paper and its rivals presented.
We broke stories on Boeing contracting scandals, radiation leaks and security lapses at the Hanford nuclear power plant. We scrapped to get the latest on the spotted owl versus loggers forest preservation conflict and the Microsoft anti-trust probe. The P-I drew attention to faulty federal meat inspection that had led to a deadly e coli poisoning outbreak–“The Jack-in-the-Box Hamburger Tragedy,” as it was known in the Northwest. The Seattle Times exposed Sen. Brock Adams, D-Wash., as a sexual harasser and drove him from office. The Oregonian revealed that Rep. Wes Cooley, R-Ore., had lied about his war record, ending his political career as well. And so it went.
Interesting stories? Yes. Would The New York Times, The Washington Post, or other national news outlets have ferreted out most or all of these stories independently? I doubt it.
All of which reminds me of AdPulp’s mission to deliver ad, marketing and media news that’s happening on the ground, far away from “Madison Avenue.”
My career in this business has been spent far away from the glitzy shops that make headlines, even though the clients I’ve served have all been major players. Also, I’m from Omaha and I live in Portland. I have my biases and they’re decidedly anti-establishment.
What’s my point? Simply that we need to hear from you, Tulsa! (Insert your own non top ten market here __________). Send us your news, your latest campaigns or your opinion on matters. Help us help you, as it were.