Apparently, The Real Problem For Journalism Is Single Welfare Mothers Who Don't Speak English

from the stereotypes-of-the-80s-unite! dept

For years, we've talked about the ridiculousness with which many old school journalists want to blame the internet (or, more specifically Google or Craigslist) for the troubles some in the industry have had lately. It is a ridiculous claim. Basically, newspapers have survived for years on a massive inefficiency in information. What newspapers did marginally well was bring together a local community of interest, take their attention, and then sell that attention. What many folks in the news business still can't come to terms with is the fact that there are tons of other communities of attention out there now, so they can't slide by on inefficiencies like they did in the past.

Either way, it's always nice to see some in the industry recognize that blaming the internet is a mistake. However, Chris Powell, the managing editor for the Journal Inquirer in Connecticut's choice of a different culprit doesn't seem much more on target. Powell, who it appears, actually does have a journalism job (I can't fathom how or why) published an opinion piece (found via Mark Hamilton and Mathew Ingram) that puts the blame squarely on... single mothers. Okay, not just any single mothers:

Indeed, newspapers still can sell themselves to traditional households -- two-parent families involved with their children, schools, churches, sports, civic groups, and such. But newspapers cannot sell themselves to households headed by single women who have several children by different fathers, survive on welfare stipends, can hardly speak or read English, move every few months to cheat their landlords, barely know what town they're living in, and couldn't afford a newspaper subscription even if they could read. And such households constitute a rising share of the population.

Indeed. I'm curious if Powell can point to the stat on the "rising share of the population" who check off all of the following boxes: Single woman? Check! Several children by different fathers? Check! Need my welfare check to survive? Check. Can hardly speak or read English (don't ask how I filled out this hypothetical census form)? Check! Move every few months to cheat my landlord? You betcha. Barely know what town I'm living in? Hell, I don't even know what state this is. Couldn't afford a newspaper subscription? What's a newspaper? Anyway, Powell seems to think he has the stats on this "rising" population. I'd like to see them.

This actually sounds a lot more like the Reagan-era myth, rather than an actual group of real people. But, you know, apparently Powell has to reach out and blame some mysterious "other" force, and this is what he latched onto.

Of course, then it gets even more crazy. As David Quigg quickly pointed out, on that very same page where Powell wrote the above paragraph, there's a giant "rules of conduct" image which appears to be directed at those evil, evil commenters, because clearly Powell didn't pay much attention to the list -- especially number four.

Filed Under: chris powell, connecticut, journalism, news business, single mothers
Companies: journal inquirer