The Columbia Journalism Review has posted a mammoth study of journalism in the digital age.

My thoughts? The News lost its way long ago. At some point, local papers decided it was better to buy stories from the outside instead of sending their own journalists in order to save money. I call it the AP-ization of news.

They kept looking for cheaper and cheaper sources of content. Eventually TV took the same route. Investigators and feature reporters were too expensive and took too long to turn stories around, so they were out the door. I mean, that CNN subscription gets you Jeanne Moos. Why would you pay someone to generate that stuff locally?

Of course now we understand that local content was the whole reason people read and watched, but the thrown away consumers have moved onward and upward. Now blog-news (blews?) fills that gap.

To fix this, it will require money be spent on local talent. Newspapers don’t have this money anymore. TV could probably pull out of its spiral, but I am not sure there are enough news directors with enough brass to go up against the bean counters. Market leaders will be content to cruise on the cult of personality built around their anchors until its too late.

I always envisioned sponsorships as the key. A local sponsor to finance reporters doing local interest pieces…things that will pull viewers/readers. Even if the story is repurposed on web, it could be wrapped in the sponsor’s branding a la gaming sites. Tacky? Only if it’s poorly done.