While more news is good - writers deserve to be paid. It's unsustainable. An unpaid model limits economically diverse voices. Who can afford to not get paid for their work? Lifting up non-profit news rooms is appropriate - being transparent about giving away work and the selectiveness of that "model" is necessary. Unless something has changed with the collective?
The Iowa Capital dispatch is my go-to site for solid legislative stories. It does an excellent job and I’ve told that to Kathie Obradovich.
The news organization does not need a sports reporter but any quality cellphone these days takes quality photographs and video.
When working on a video documentary in 1995 about Latinos in Iowa, I discovered the same thing about immigrants from Latin America—love of family, hardworking, strong spirituality. And my 30 years of international media training in several Central and South American nations with journalists reinforces that perception. We should welcome them.
This is so important. Unfortunately mainstream news once was a common denominator in any community, Maybe you didn't take the newspaper for news, but for sports, grocery and department store and want ads, etc. Or maybe you watched the first part of a newscast to catch the weather and sports that followed. On the way to those favorites you came across stories that were important for you to know. That common denominator has been greatly diminished. As good as the Capital Dispatch is doing, it isn't reaching the mass audiences who need to know what it is reporting. That results in a huge loss in community knowledge, poorer local decision making, and more popular focus on polarizing national issues. Damn.
Thanks to you, Dave, the reporters at the Iowa Capital Dispatch, and the members of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative for keeping us informed about so many topics from so many areas. You all provide us with an invaluable service. Thank you!
Thanks lots, Dave, for recognizing The Capital Dispatch gem, and its fantastic writers. The Dispatch has become the newspaper Iowa depends upon.
While more news is good - writers deserve to be paid. It's unsustainable. An unpaid model limits economically diverse voices. Who can afford to not get paid for their work? Lifting up non-profit news rooms is appropriate - being transparent about giving away work and the selectiveness of that "model" is necessary. Unless something has changed with the collective?
The Iowa Capital dispatch is my go-to site for solid legislative stories. It does an excellent job and I’ve told that to Kathie Obradovich.
The news organization does not need a sports reporter but any quality cellphone these days takes quality photographs and video.
When working on a video documentary in 1995 about Latinos in Iowa, I discovered the same thing about immigrants from Latin America—love of family, hardworking, strong spirituality. And my 30 years of international media training in several Central and South American nations with journalists reinforces that perception. We should welcome them.
This is so important. Unfortunately mainstream news once was a common denominator in any community, Maybe you didn't take the newspaper for news, but for sports, grocery and department store and want ads, etc. Or maybe you watched the first part of a newscast to catch the weather and sports that followed. On the way to those favorites you came across stories that were important for you to know. That common denominator has been greatly diminished. As good as the Capital Dispatch is doing, it isn't reaching the mass audiences who need to know what it is reporting. That results in a huge loss in community knowledge, poorer local decision making, and more popular focus on polarizing national issues. Damn.
Great! Thanks Dave!
Thanks to you, Dave, the reporters at the Iowa Capital Dispatch, and the members of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative for keeping us informed about so many topics from so many areas. You all provide us with an invaluable service. Thank you!