By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 31, 2019 | It’s amazing what the Internet has given us, if nothing more than the ability to produce GwinnettForum twice a week.
Yet at the same time, the Internet has caused changes that have dramatically taken away many of our society’s most cherished institutions.
For instance, we all know that the daily (and some weekly) newspapers are just not what they used to be, directly from an onslaught of the Internet. We all remember the fat editions which used to come to our door, containing page-after-page of department store advertising. However, the loss of department store advertising may stem more from the arrival of the Wal-Mart and other discount stores.
Yet the Internet took away from newspapers much more, from classified advertising, from real estate, automobile, help wanted employment and even “personal” advertisements. You see these listings now more readily available through the Internet. And do you remember those full-page new car advertisements? Gone, for the most part.
So what happened? The shrinking advertising revenue meant reduction in personnel for newspapers, and after that came a reduction in the space for news, meaning fewer pages and a much smaller “news hole.” That led to daily newspapers reducing the geographic area they covered. No longer did the Atlanta newspaper, for instance, seek to cover the state; now it only attempts to produce much-less news for the Metro Atlanta area. But seldom does it really cover this area as before.
Remember when the Atlanta newspapers had a local daily (Gwinnett EXTRA) tucked within the daily newspaper? In most of those days, the AJC was in a fight with the New York Times in Gwinnett. At one time, when Gwinnett had about 400,000 residents, the Gwinnett EXTRA had 47 reporters in the county. Really. I know. And today? With 900,000 people now in Gwinnett, the Atlanta newspaper has only about three reporters in Gwinnett. And you can’t cover the county with so few and put out “complete” coverage!
Meanwhile, the Gwinnett Daily Post struggles with only a few reporters, now publishing only three times a week. The legal advertising is a Godsend keeping it in print.
In Gwinnett there are very few web sites devoted to the county or individual communities. GwinnettForum seeks to provide a window to residents for comment and opinion, plus a few other items,. But our offerings are meager for such a large county. If GwinnettForum was dependent on revenue to feed families, it would not survive. Luckily, a few resolute and forward-thinking companies and individuals help with most of its expenses. We need more underwriting sponsors!
Overall, Gwinnett County needs far more internet sites to keep its citizens informed on activities and governance. But alas, there are so few.
What can you do? Support your local media. Here’s one way.
If you enjoy GwinnettForum, tell your friends and neighbors. We have a meager base of regulars (estimated less than 10,000 unique readers) in this big county. It costs nothing to subscribe, and your friends can be more informed about the county.
If each of our readers would only suggest that ONE MORE person subscribe, it would go a long way in giving GwinnettForum more reach. It would also give these new readers a better understanding of the county.
We try to conduct GwinnettForum at a high level of journalism, offering informed and updated news and opinion. We welcome input, and seldom have to turn away comment, since readers seem to understand that we set the bar high, and expect them to also.
Do your part. Tell others about GwinnettForum, and you’ll be doing your part to keep Gwinnett more informed.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us