From today’s News-Sentinel

Shine, Bynum keep roles as head of political parties

By Aaron J. Organ

ajorgan@news-sentinel.com

Steve Shine overcame a determined showing from local attorney Ric Runestad to maintain his position as head of the Allen County Republican Party on Saturday, overwhelmingly claiming a first-ballot win in the caucus held at South Side High School.

Attorney? Sheesh.

From Kevin Leininger’s story in the same paper on March 2nd.

“I’m running because I feel the party can do better to communicate with, educate and empower the grass roots,” said Ric Runestad, 42, owner of Runestad Financial Services Ltd.,

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Frank Nicastro – (D), who represents Connecticut’s 79th assembly district, is asking the state government to do something to salvage The Bristol Press, a paper that may fold within days, along with The Herald. The papers’ publisher, Journal Register, is in danger of being crushed under millions of dollars in debt, and can’t afford to keep them open.

Then let them close. Let them die a miserable death. The local newspapers are not even worth buying anymore. The News Sentinel is a shadow of its former self, and the Journal Gazette is heading in the same direction. If the Journal Register is being crushed from millions of dollars worth of debt, a handout will only delay the inevitable

“The media is a vitally important part of America,” Nicastro said, particularly local papers that cover news ignored by big papers and television and radio stations.

Is that right? Why then does the local “old” media constantly check the blogs for stories, sometimes even claiming they have an exclusive when in fact a local blogger did? They (Journal Gazette/News Sentinel) won’t even give attribution to local blogs when they cite them.

But, relying on the government has raised ethical questions for the press, whose role has been to operate without government influence and media experts predict that 2009 will be the year that newspapers will “die” in wake of the financial meltdown.

This has nothing to do with the “financial meltdown”. Newspapers are old hat, and they know it. Dwindling readership, falling subscriptions and advertisers moving towards new media are all part of the problem.

Former Miami Herald Editor Tom Fiedler says that a democracy has an obligation to preserve a free press. More here.

That is unless you’re a conservative talk show. Then the democrats want to silence you.

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