Metro I-4 News

The next time anyone in my family goes to the hospital, we’re brining our own bleach: Beware, patients: Killer bug plagues hospitals

“During a 10-hour shift, a worker can lift two tons; the pay has been about 1.4 cents per pound.” and yet farmers haven’t passed on the extra penny a pound the workers got Burger King (and others) to agree to pay: Orlando-area immigrant workers fight to hold the pennies they won

Confused about carbon offsets? This Sentinel article won’t help: Everyone has a carbon footprint - but do ‘offsets’ make sense? So why link to it? Well, the Sentinel writer tried, but the concept deserves a lot more space than a few inches in the daily paper. That’s he kind of article that could have been a series. The question now is: will readers take the time to follow a series that isn’t about sex, beauty or gossip? I think they will. I’m not so sure many newspaper marketing people would agree.

A defense contractor says their plant isn’t hazardous. This is news? Nelson Plans Meeting To Address Raytheon Issues

I am surprised the Tribune hasn’t announced a series on teen sex trafficking in this week’s paper. It must be the recent cut in staff. However, they do have an editorial: Region Needs To Wake Up To Teen Sex Trafficking. I hate that headline though. It reminds me of a morning show promo. Region Needs to Wake up to Kristie Lee and the Morning Report!

Note today’s date: July 13, 2008. That’s important as you read State Chided For Dip In Voter Registrations Now note this line from the article: “In January, lawyers for three national advocacy groups - Project Vote, ACORN and Demos - complained….” They complained in January and it took six months for the Trib to write about it? Or did they just hear about it? Either way, it’s good it finally made the paper.

Bonus:

Expect more articles like this in your local paper: This Isn’t Goodbye, But Merely The Turning Of A New Page

If you didn’t read it in a newspaper, you might not know the American press had an especially bad few weeks. Reporters, editors, photographers losing their jobs in droves. The American press is in upheaval because you’ve stopped reading the paper. Worse, you’ve stopped buying the paper. Even worse, you’ve stopped putting ads in the paper.

What comes next: citizen journalists. The problem is the majority of citizen journalists aren’t going to have the resources to dig deep and uncover the big problems. Crooked presidents, wars started on false pretenses, corporations polluting the environment. Americans need a healthy press to do that.

I’m going to start writing more about the changes in the regional papers. Not in this column, but another that will debut later this week.