Save Our Press

Send me your horror story. Are you a reporter who got laid off? Are you a reader who got burned? Regardless of whether you love or hate the news media, I want to hear from you.

Because in five years, newspapers may no longer be around. Instead we’ll have news-lite online: PR pieces on kittens rescued and Brittany’s latest, horse-race political coverage, and random acts of violence and traffic jams. We’ll lack in-depth, independent coverage of things that affect your pocketbook, well-being and children. We’ll lack watchdog coverage of the powerful interests who run our government and corporations.

Wait, are we there yet?

This blog was borne of my deep despair over the state of our newspapers, to which I’ve given my heart and soul over the past decade. A strong free press is the foundation of our democracy. Without verified facts, context and diverse perspectives that newspapers offer, how can citizens be informed voters and consumers? Without a strong, independent watchdog to stand up to powerful corporate or government interests, how do we expose abuses of power and hold accountable those who run the system?

Forces beyond the control of journalists have converged in a way that threatens to corrupt and degrade the Fourth Estate. This blog will be a place for constructive dialogue on the vital signs of our press and what we can do to save our press from becoming irrelevant.

Sanjay Bhatt, the author, is an award-winning journalist who has worked at four top newspapers over the past decade. He also is a documentary filmmaker. He lives in Seattle.

Email: saveourpress@gmail.com