Down To 2

We almost missed it. Sometimes, it seems like the folks who run newspapers want it that way.

Last Thursday, the Winston-Salem Journal announced in a very short 5 paragraph story that it was eliminating its stand-alone business section, deciding to offer only 2 pages of business coverage Monday through Friday attached to the local news section--all because of cost cutting measures. 5 employees were "eliminated."

The story went on to state that Sunday's Winston-Salem Journal business section would continue as a separate stand-alone section, and that it will include the Wall Street Journal business report (as had been the case already).

This represents a sizable reduction in local coverage. How many in-depth articles can we expect to see in just 2 pages of business news (don't forget the ads, they will take up a lot of space).

Just last summer/fall, the Winston-Salem Journal did a series of reports on the impact of second home growth and development in the High Country. Their stories were important for many reasons, but especially because they were willing to ask the questions that needed to be asked--and follow the stories where they went--even if some of the developers weren't happy that the reports did not read like a company press release.

And that Sunday Winston-Salem Journal business section which will include the Wall Street Journal business report? The Wall Street Journal was just purchased by Rupert Murdoch. Should be an enlightening read.