As an experiment in hyperlocal news reporting, Mission Loc@l is interested in the ongoing conversation about what the heck is going to happen to the Fourth Estate as print advertising continues to shrivel and Internet advertising fails to pick up the slack.
For a rundown of Wednesday evening’s discussion at the public library on the future of journalism, check out Benjamin Wachs’ post at SF Weekly. A choice tidbit:
That’s what we’ll be missing if the Chron goes under: Nobody in this town will have the clout to make the mayor’s office answer for anything, let alone big business. The work performed by a thousand small blogs may be exceptional, but to be effective a watchdog has to be a big dog. If there’s not at least one news medium that everybody reads … there’s no watchdog.
In other news, we are not writing about Mister Pickle today, nor are we taking on the Medjool roofdeck. Everyone needs a breather now and again.