A business news blurb talks back

Mark Glaser, who writes the MediaShift column for PBS, writes about the brief in the San Francisco Chronicle’s business section on the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s study that noted the declining coverage in most newspapers.

Glaser noted that the brief started speaking to him. Here is an excerpt of the conversation:

Me: Don’t you find it ironic that you’re a blurb about cutbacks in content at newspapers, and there you are: a cutback in content yourself.

The Blurb: Don’t get me started. The Chronicle business section is a study in reduced expectations and content. There are three original stories in today’s business section with two written by staff writers, the other a freelance columnist. The rest of the stories are wire stories, CNET content, a Dilbert cartoon and wire service blurbs like me.

Me: Not surprising, as the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) survey found that 34% of newspapers had cut back on business content, and only 17% had increased business content. Not only that, but 30% of business sections lost reporting resources over the past three years, with just 19% adding resources. Business sections are obviously getting squeezed by the instant info people can find online. Anyone following business news now goes to financial portals like Yahoo Finance or sites like TheStreet.com or Motley Fool rather than relying on local papers.

The Blurb: But why get all blurby then? If papers want to accept their place in print as yesterday’s news, then perhaps they should do longer, more thoughtful pieces and get more magazine-like than strip down naked with tiny blurbs covering their bits and pieces. What happened to the Examiner/Chronicle’s push to be a daily magazine with more splashy graphics, photos and depth?

Read more here.