It was only a year ago that Seattle still had two daily newspapers, and the now defunct one was running compelling investigative journalism about the Boy Scouts' cozy relationship with loggers and the hidden dangers and shady dealings of the honey industry.
Yesterday, that paper—once called the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, now called seattlepi.com in its online-only form—was kind enough to inform the people of Puget Sound that Bill Gates had joined Twitter for real this time.
Indeed, in what was billed as a journalism experiment for the nation to watch, the results have been as disappointing as Microsoft Windows Vista—plenty of flash but little substance.
Just more than a year after the Hearst Corporation announced it would sell the P-I or go online only, the content of seattlepi.com is clearly intended to drive traffic, and in turn, create ad revenue.
With driving traffic motivating journalism, Golden Globe galleries dominate a home page and images of the Haiti earthquake from a seattlepi.com photographer get buried. Even The New York Times and Fox News featured those photos more prominently.
Newspapers are important because they have provided local coverage consistently more professionally, fairly and accurately than other media. And as a recent study conducted in Baltimore demonstrated, newspapers still generate more original reporting than any other media.
Seattlepi.com relies heavily on reader blogs, pointing to other site's content, aggregated photos and stories, staff commentary and yes, LOLCats.
Seattlepi.com's content is impressive for a small staff of 20 very talented "news gatherers," who don't deserve blame for its lackluster editorial standards. These journalists are victims of big media corporations and audiences that value news content but don't understand that original reporting is expensive and currently funded by print, not Web, advertising. Their local-focused, original content is hidden beneath red carpets and sexy headlines.
But Seattle and all communities deserve committed local coverage and original reporting. Seattlepi.com and other media, including this one, would do well to remember that.
The Puget Sound doesn't need its own Huffington Post.
Managing editor Braden VanDragt, a seattlepi.com intern, abstained from this opinion.
Reach the editorial board at opinion@su-spectator.com.
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