State's journalism task force issues final report

 

The Illinois Local Journalism Task Force recently released its final report.

The task force was created by law in 2021 and looked at the state of local newspapers and journalism in Illinois. The report details the findings, which are not surprising to anyone who has followed the newspaper industry during the past couple of decades.

The report also includes some suggestions for helping the industry. As one might expect those suggestions involve tax credits, grants, and government subsidies. None of the recommendations involve purely market-oriented solutions. That's a pity, I think.

The report is 22-pages long, including the appendix and a list of the task force's members, which alone is worth reading, and sheds some light as to the final recommendations, I think.

The report all but ignores the many important factors that contributed to the decline of newspapers and that continue to contribute to the slow death of legacy "journalism." Of course, it is the product of a government panel, so one ought to expect some serious flaws.

For a better read about the challenges to local journalism, one that provides market-proven success stories, I suggest "Beacons in the Darkness" by Dave Hoekstra, an Illinois based writer and recovering newspaper man.

-- Thank you for reading. Your comments and questions are always welcome. Kevin Botterman

What I hope to avoid (but probably won't) in 2024

 

Now that we've entered 2024, here are a few of the things I hope to avoid during the next 12 months. I acknowledge the struggle is real.

Anything related to or about Taylor and Travis - I have nothing against either personally and wish them all the best. I imagine they're a warm and engaging couple. I'm just not interested in seeing their photos or videos about them everywhere I turn, or in my news feed daily. So as nice as they might be, I'm happy to leave them behind in 2023.

Celebrity news and opinion - They've been with us forever, and celebrities of all types and stripes receive a disproportionate amount media coverage (see the couple named above), and that's just the way it is in our culture. I saw too much of it in 2023; more than any one reasonable, relatively balanced individual should see. I'm done. I'm trying to avoid all of it in 2024, and so far (yes, it's early), I'm doing fine. Wish me luck, and maybe offer up a prayer, if you're so inclined.

Professional sports - This one won't be as challenging for me as it was in the past. I lost interest in the NBA decades ago (about the time the league gave up any interest in playing defense) and can't recall the last time I watched a full game. 

I stopped watching the NFL back when the league allowed politics to become a part of the game. If I want that, I'll watch the news. Also, the broadcast became too long. I simply don't have the time or interest to commit more than three hours to watching a game. Professional hockey never captured my interest, but I do enjoy watching the college game. If you've never watched one, give it a try. 

I admit to watching a couple of MLB games in 2023, just to see how the pitch clock affected the game. I liked it, but not enough to watch an entire game. I shifted to radio broadcasts and enjoyed those. 

Anything related to The Walt Disney Corporation - The fools running that operation completely turned me off in 2023. It's not just that they produced weak movies, which they did. It was their decision to insert their cultural agenda and politics into everything they do and produce. That's the company's choice, of course. It's also my choice to walk away and spend my dollars elsewhere. That's easy for me to do on this one. 

Netflix and HBO - I've never cared much for the productions Netflix offers and the operation's movie collection doesn't match my tastes. Avoiding Netflix is doable for me. However, my lovely wife frequently watches the streaming service, so I might have to take the hit in order to spend time with her.

As for HBO, well the decision to run commercials during their presentations ended things for me. I understand most streaming services have or soon will be introducing commercials to their basic offerings. There's little I can do about that trend. But I've watched HBO since the early 1980s, and loved its commercial-free model in exchange for my cable (later streaming) subscription. Introducing commercials strikes me as a betrayal, one I can't bring myself to forgive.

Arguing with the misinformed and blindly partisan on social media - What was once an amusing distraction now leaves me annoyed. It seems the number of ignorant, blindly partisan and willfully misinformed grows with each day. The stupid and lazy live among us in great numbers. I once enjoyed toying with them, much as a cat plays with string, but I've lost interest in them. I can use your prayers on this one, too. 

Those are just a few of the things I hope to avoid in this new year. I could probably add many more, but I'm ready to move ahead, eager to meet the challenges of 2024. 

-- Thank you for reading. Your comments and questions are always welcome. Please post them here, or feel free to email me at kbotterman@gmail.com.