This morning, we heard the news that a newspaper in our own backyard –the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune – had been sold to an Alabama newspaper group. While we here in the Boston area have almost become numb to the news of long-time companies being sold off (Fleet, Gillette, etc.), it’s more of a wake up call to us in the PR industry when it happens to a media company, in this case one of the oldest family owned daily newspaper chains in the state (and one that’s less than a mile from our office). I’ve always held the publication in high regard and they’ve won awards for their news coverage. Will it continue under new management? We’ll see.
Consolidation in the media is taking place at a rapid, almost frightening, pace. Is this a good thing for PR practitioners? My gut reaction is to say, “no,” because this country was formed on the foundation of free speech and with less and less independent vehicles to do that, our free speech becomes limited. But, on the other side of the coin, we have the proliferation of new forms of media, most notably blogs, websites, podcasts, who knows what else the future holds. These vehicles are offering new and different forms of journalism, never before possible.
So, while the old school in me is saddened to see the Eagle Tribune lose its independence, I’m optimistic to what the future holds.
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