In the January 2023 issue of Editor & Publisher Magazine, E&P featured an article about Dr. Peter Laufer's book, “Slow News: A Manifesto for the Critical News Consumer,” and the subsequent film documentary "Slow News" that speaks to how media companies chasing "clicks" in a digital age has led to the erosion of quality journalism and the public’s trust.
However, what this professor of journalism and James N. Wallace Chair of Journalism at the University of Oregon was chasing was a personal dream to save the local cities newspaper — The Eugene (OR) Register-Guard.
In a recent article for the local weekly entitled "How to Save the 'Guarded-Register, ' Dr. Laufer writes, "We in Eugene are witnessing the slow murder of our daily newspaper. But maybe, just maybe, what’s rapidly becoming too thin to wrap fish and line the bird cage, can still be saved." He goes on to state, "When what's now the Gannett Company — the corporate monster that owns more U.S. newspapers than any other — bought the R-G, butchery began: de facto pink slips to venerable reporters and editors and photographers in the form of buyouts, and local news coverage replaced with outdated reporting from elsewhere via Gannett’s USA TODAY network.”
Dr. Laufer also recently published an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed entitled "A Plan to Save the Daily Paper." He told the story of how he approached Gannett to explore the idea of having his students take over the newspaper writing. Within the piece, he reports that he began the process by calling CEO Mike Reed and was connected to Amalie Nash, the Gannett senior vice president of local news and audience development, who performed a “gracious” entrée to Gannett’s senior vice president for corporate development, Jay Fogarty.
Laufer states that Fogarty wrote a note to him saying that “the Register-Guard is a paper we plan to own and operate long-term." However, in a subsequent phone conversation about the idea of offering the paper to the University, Laufer writes that Fogarty said, "I'm all for it when the paper stops making money. Glad we're talking. But at this point, it does make some money."
In this 173rd episode of “E&P Reports,” we go one-on-one with Peter Laufer, Ph.D., an award-winning journalist, professor of journalism, James N. Wallace Chair of Journalism at the University of Oregon and author of "Slow News: A Manifesto for the Critical News Consumer." We ask Laufer about his recent campaign to get Gannett to donate the city’s paper of record, The Eugene Register-Guard, to the school and his views on the media industry today.
134 Latest Borrell study shows OTT on the rise surpassing search in 3-years.
133 ARPA Funding gives 150 Businesses Access to Advertise with the R-J
132 Meet Ben August, the new owner of NYC’s voice of labor, The Chief.
131 This 108-year-old Alaskan newspaper is free for the taking.
130 News vets exit the daily to start a growing nonprofit
129 Florida's public notice reversal. A panel discussion
128 Florida reverses recently approved legislation requiring public notices on local newspapers
127 One-on-one with columnist Rex Huppke, as war breaks out during his 1st week at USA Today
126 Getting to know the Military Veterans in Journalism
125 100-percent sponsored content. Jed Williams & Dave Arkin’s Check Out DFW
124 Why we need and how to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion
123 When a Texas daily folds, a weekly tabloid explodes.
122 News industry advocates appeal to Congress to pass safe-harbor bill
121 A frank chat with news publishing technology veteran Kurt Jackson
120 American Journalism Project makes good on a promise to fund nonprofit local news
119 Auto ad dollars are up for grabs, per Borrell's latest study
118 Reporters share insights into reporting on January 6th attack and domestic extremism
117 6AM City takes a bold move into the digital news future
116 A preview of Borrell Miami
115 An update on the antitrust case against Google & Facebook
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