The Postmedia Telegram
By Roger Bill
The end of The Telegram’s 145-year history as a daily newspaper has finally arrived. What’s next? The CEO of the new owner, Postmedia, says his company is committed to “developing a more sustainable model” while “reinforcing our commitment to quality journalism.”
So, what kind of “quality journalism” is Postmedia’s “more sustainable” model of The Telegram delivering?
On the first Monday morning after the takeover the lead story (or the top story of what the thetelegram.com calls its Top Stories) was a report about charges against a woman for a hit and run being upgraded to second degree murder after the victim died. You could have read the same story on Monday for free at the local CBC, VOCM, or NTV internet sites. You had to pay for it at thetelegram.com.
On Tuesday morning, August 27, the top of the Top Stories at thetelegram.com was a report about the appointment of businessman Justin Ladha as the new Chairperson of the MUN Board of Regents. You could have read the same story for free six days earlier at the local CBC, VOCM, or NTV internet sites
On Wednesday morning, August 28 the top of the Top Stories at the telegram.com was a report about a woman with a knife being arrested in the east end of St. John’s. You could have read the same story for free at ntv.ca.
On Thursday morning, August 29 the top of the Top Stories at the telegram.com was a report of a person being killed in a motorcycle accident in the Goulds. You could have read the same story for free at ntv.ca and later in the day at cbc.ca/nl. The other five telegram.com Top Stories on Thursday had been previously reported on its site, including the previous day’s story about the incident of a woman with a knife being arrested.
On Friday morning, August 30 the top of the Top Stories at the telegram.com was a report of a family of five surviving a traffic accident on the TCH. The three free news sites did not have the story. CBC’s ‘top’ story was a report on teacher shortages on the eve of schools re-opening. VOCM led with a story about flooding delaying the opening of a school in St. George’s. NTV led with a story about Shannyganock performing on Saturday at the Downtown Pedestrian Mall’s Music on Water event.
To be fair, what is a top story before 8:00 a.m. in the morning isn’t a complete measure of Postmedia’s commitment to “quality journalism.” While it remains true that morning consumers of news are a significant part of the media marketplace, if you went to the Telegram’s website on Wednesday afternoon the top story was a human-interest piece about a little girl and a house fire. The next story is a long piece about Change Island and the ferry. They also had a bowling alley story no one else had plus an op-ed that no one else had. In addition, unlike NTV and VOCM, The Telegram site has book reviews and local columnists.
Opinions vary about what constitutes “quality journalism,” but there is an objective measure of what is a “sustainable model.” It’s easy. Does the “model” make money or lose money? The challenge for Postmedia is to deliver a product that consumers can’t get elsewhere and are willing to pay for. That is a steep hill to climb as Postmedia begins to cut jobs in The Telegram newsroom.
Journalists are competitive, but also collegial and the odds are nobody in the NTV, VOCM, or CBC newsrooms take any pleasure in Postmedia cutting jobs in The Telegram newsroom. It is hard to see however, how layingoff journalists will lead to better local news coverage and reinforcing Postmedia’s “commitment to quality journalism.” Unless, of course, Postmedia doesn’t mean a commitment to quality local journalism.