| | | We need coal mines, not newpapers
Don Surber
Saturday, October 27, 2018
donsurber.blogspot.com
"Despite Trump Rhetoric, Journalists Are Losing Jobs at a Faster Rate Than Coal Miners," the Observer reported.
Kurt Schlichter (retired Army colonel, attorney, novelist and columnist) did a video, "Journalists are losing their jobs — and I don’t care."
His argument is, "Why, even coal miners are doing better. You know, the hard-working folks who the press were happy to see lose their jobs? Not a lot of sympathy from me."
Kurt Schlichter?Verified account @KurtSchlichter 7h7 hours ago
Kurt Schlichter Retweeted The Rebel
I hope the media collapses because it is a leftist shill and it blows.
Newspapers are obsolete. Video killed the radio star, and bloggers killed the newspapers.
A few executives, including the ones who run the New York Times, are trying to segue to the Internet, something they should have done 20 years ago.
But most newspaper publishers think they can limp along by cutting staff.
The smart money left long ago. Thomson and other big chains of newspapers got out 10 to 20 years ago when the going was still good.
The new owners usually are either hedge funds that will squeeze the orange rind for juice a few more times, or delusional local people with little newspaper experience who think they can save the buggy whip factory.
But the most delusional people are the writers and reporters at newspapers. They think they are better than coal miners.
Consider columnist Catherine Rampell's reaction to the job losses.
Catherine Rampell?Verified account @crampell 3 Apr 2017
From Jan 2001 to Sep 2016, newspaper publishing lost over half its employment, from 412k to 174k.
Catherine Rampell?Verified account @crampell 3 Apr 2017
BTW US has lost many more newspaper jobs than coal jobs over that period, in both raw numbers and percentage terms.
Excuse me, but that just shows that coal miners are more important than reporters. In the marketplace, coal miners win hands down.
ABC News reported, "The average starting salary for a coal mine worker is $60,000."
The average for reporters is half that.
Coal mining requires the skill to run heavy equipment. Reporting requires typing. I had a managing editor 40-plus years ago who said he could teach someone to be a reporter in an afternoon. And he did.
But such humility is rare in the business.
We need coal mines to supply reliable electricity, and to make steel. Replacing them with windmills not only would line our hills with unsightly turbines but it would put electric production at the mercy of the weather.
But newspapers are easily replaced by alternate news outlets. They are less harmful to the environment as they don't require the timbering of forests, and don't fill the landfills with old papers.
I get the argument about the importance of free speech and a free press.
But Schlichter is right. So many newspapers are run by leftist shills that we do not have a free press.
Only 20 newspapers in the USA endorsed Donald John Trump for president.
He carried 30 states.
I would say that states he won that failed to have a newspaper that endorsed him are news deserts.
West Virginia is the best example. None of the state's newspapers endorsed him. He won by 42 points. How in the heck can newspapers claim any relevance when they are so out of touch with readers?
|
|
