In a couple of weeks, I will attend the Technology Forum’s event that explores 3D printing. One of the presenters will be a company known as Sovereign Air, a pioneering 3D printing firm.
After driving by the company’s office in Pomeroy Plaza off Main Street in Newark, I realized that I was no stranger to the space occupied by the start-up company.
The suite was the last home of the Newark Post prior to moving its offices to the Cecil Whig offices in Elkton, Md.
I served as Editor of the Post for a couple of years in something of a battlefield promotion On an awful day, I stayed in my office as staff members of the Post and Business Ledger were let go.
Things had gotten progressively worse under new owner American Consolidated Media as it struggled with declining advertising revenue and a crushing debt load. Those in charge had little choice. After the carnage, the non-advertising staff of the Post/Ledger consisted of two people, Mark Corrigan and myself.
We soldiered on, juggling the two pubs. The Business Ledger was killed off year later while I was off on vacation. Still, the Post’s web site became one of the most popular newspaper URLs in the state.
Suite 209 remained a ghostly place. There was talk of making the Post into a model for digital first, but nothing came of that plan Still, we rose to the occasion and helped the Post mark its 100th anniversary, no small feat. Meanwhile digital and print strategies were launched and nearly always failed. Those in charge had no answers.
The last eight months of my newspaper career were spent running the websites of the Post and Whig, knowing that the end would come and, of course, it did. Those memories came back this week as the News Journal went through a “Hunger Games” of sorts as staffers were forced to reapply for a smaller number of jobs. The goal is to emerge as a fast-moving news organization.
Allow me to be skeptical. The newspaper DNA remains. That’s good in terms of a commitment to watchdog reporting. On the minus side, there are signs that the old ways are winning out.
I remain optimistic about the future of digital news, based on the success of this enterprise and others. But I see no signs that newspapers have any answers other than continued downsizing until print simply goes away.
In the meantime, I relish the opportunity to learn more about companies like Soverign Air without the burden of print production.
Doug,
Thank you for staying in the game. And thank you for keeping this site up and running. Your breaking news alerts often come at a faster pace than the big boy can handle. Keep it up!
I get three free local newspapers a week delivered to my house, there is a market for print media, unfortunately newspaper ownership became associated with wealth and power and with a few exceptions that just isn’t historical reality. I have no intention of paying a dollar to read a newspaper where the majority of reporters are under 25 or interns and are still quoting Catcher in the Rye or Saturday Night Live.