Project Rewire ... what it means for Michigan

by: Eric B.

Thu Jan 25, 2007 at 22:14:51 PM EST

Judy Daubenmier puts together the case against the media in the run-up to the Iraq war, and soon after.  It's a well-known case, and nothing in her book "Project Rewire" comes as a surprise.  How she does it is rather unique ... viewed through the eyes of blogs and essays that first appeared online.

As to the first ... the question is whether a national trend is still the same when applied to the state of Michigan. Would it be possible for the Michigan media to fail in the same way that the national media did on Iraq.

The obvious answer is yes.  Most Michigan newspapers are subject to the same pressures that have affected the national outlets.  In fact, in many cases, they're owned by the same chains.

Both nationally and in Michigan, there has been a gradual focus away from things like investigative reporting and towards things like short stories that are heavy on dueling quotes.

But, there is a difference. No cable news networks, which means that aside from Tim Skubick's "Off the Record," you have none of the Sunday morning shoutfests or the need for generalized pundits who can offer generalized opinions.  In fact, there is no real statewide television news presence.  In Michigan, it's still possible for the newspaper to be king.

But, yet, the newspaper industry itself is going through upheavals.  The slimming of newrooms and reliance on pooled resources like wire services, and also the refocusing of those resources away from important reporting projects means two things:  a) that readers are increasingly at the mercy of the wire services reporter, who might be the sole source of information on certain topics to newspaper readers across the state; and b) reactive reporting, which means a much greater ability of public officials to frame issues in ways that are favorable to them.  With some notable exceptions, reporting is driven less by journalistic inquiry, and more by the people and institutions that were once the subject of that inquiry.

While the stakes aren't nearly as high, this has created a potentially difficult situation.  Before the war in Iraq started, it was possible to find outlets that challenged the nation's march to war in certain magazines and -- through the Internet -- in the international media.  With just a few exceptions, there is no alternative Michigan media to speak of.  That means if one wire service reporter gets an important story wrong, it will be difficult to correct the misperceptions of thousands.

The blog posts and online essays gathered together for Rewired examined, mostly, media failures in the run-up to the war in Iraq, and the continued credulty even after it became clear that the war was pushed on a pile of untruths.  Something is entirely possible in Michigan, where the resources to independent journalism are not available today to do the job it can and should.

Where it's all headed is the $64,000 question for everyone ... especially media management.  Newspaper subscriptions and ad revenue are both declining, and it's been a decades-long trend where the youngest folks just haven't picked up their local paper.  Today, they get most of their information from the Internet.

Newspapers are making a belated move to the 'Net, and while newspaper Web sites remain profitable, they don't bring in the revenue to pay a newspaper's bills.  What would be the primary costs for the Web, staffing, are still buried in the general newsroom budget, and while readership increases for most paper's online presence, the move of one reader to the Web means (if you believe the available estimates) a net loss of 75 percent of that reader's revenue.

Eventually, someone will figure out a sustainable model that pays the bills and provide quality journalism.  But, of course, right now no one knows what that will look like, and whether in the meantime the public can stay reasonably informed enough for vibrant, informed democratic decision making remains to be seen.

(Quick note:  Discussing Michigan's blogs might seem like a natural fit here.  But, this is long enough.)