Because of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s (PG) impending closure less than a month away, a group of journalists have formed a collective effort to figure out what’s next.
Much of that conversation centers around how to create a media outlet which has the same impact and significance as the PG’s reporting. As an editorial board, we have stood firmly against how the PG has treated its employees and the decision to close in the first place, but we still recognize the publication as Pittsburgh’s newspaper of record – each major city has one.
This new collective, known as the Pittsburgh Alliance for People-empowered Reporting (PAPER), hopes to do exactly that.
The group held a town hall last Wednesday, asking members of the public and other fellow journalists where they get their news, how media serves them and what they would want to see from a new effort to fill any void the PG’s closure may leave.
Much of the conversation was focused on underreported topics, especially news that isn’t high on action unlike a car chase or a brutal crime, for example. The lack of good news troubled many in attendance who spoke up.
And we agree. This is a problem that almost every media outlet faces because of assignments being given out by editors who don’t value feature stories and good news. There’s a prevailing thought that people are only willing to pay attention to topics such as crime. There’s also a lack of available journalists to take on every story.
In an ideal situation, every story would get coverage and every public interest piece would be successful. These were all problems discussed during PAPER’s meeting, but these problems are something The Globe has to deal with too.
For instance, our entire editorial team wishes every story of importance is covered. That includes every Point Park sports game, every theatrical production and every pitch we’re given.
Unfortunately, we face the same problem as professional newsrooms – not enough people can do the necessary work. This affects what gets published and what doesn’t.
We are still incredibly proud of how The Globe has looked both this semester and last. The stories we have been able to publish, whether investigative news or musical reviews, are all pieces we’re happy with. At no point have we published an issue we don’t think is good enough for our readers.
However, how many people can do the work has shrunk considerably compared to years past. We have the highest number of staff writers we’ve had since the pre-COVID-19 days, but we are missing three editors, have only a few writers who can work consistently and have one copyeditor. This is still far from ideal.
This problem can only be solved by people being willing to work with us. Not only are people outside the school of communication welcome to write for us, but strongly encouraged.
We keep saying it and will continue to do so: student media is not only a lifeline to a career in journalism, but it’s simply fun.
Where else at Point Park can someone get published and have their work seen by hundreds, if not thousands of people and get noticed quickly? Where else can someone have a space to write about what they care about?
This can only be a good newspaper if people continue to care about it. Don’t let this thing go away.
