Leaving Readers Behind

The American newspaper industry is in the middle of the most momentous change in its entire three hundred-year history. A generation of relentless "corporatization" has resulted in a furious, unprecedented blitz of buying, selling, and consolidation of newspapers --affecting the mightiest dailies and the humblest weeklies. Accompanying this corporate jury has come dramatic--and drastic--change in reporting and coverage of all kinds. Concerned that this phenomenon was going largely unreported--and, therefore, unquestioned--Gene Roberts, legendary reporter and editor, decided to undertake a huge, extended reportorial study of his own industry. Gathering more than two dozen distinguished journalists and writers, Roberts produced a long series of reports in the American Journalism Review, published by the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. This is the first of two books to be published exploring the current state of American newspaper and it asks the crucial question: Are American communities--in the very middle of the so-called Information Explosion--in danger of becoming less informed than ever?