US newspaper newsrooms: the rain forests of journalism?

OJR Executive Editor Larry Pryor writes an article denouncing publishers' lack of courage and risk-taking that could lead to the downfall of quality journalism. "Publishers, hard-pressed to keep profits up to the point that stockholders will stick around, have been shrinking the amount of money that goes to newsrooms. To compound the problem, when newspapers launch a Web site, the funds are likely to come out of the print side's editorial budget. Understandably, some print people see new media and their own newspaper Web sites as the enemy, cost centers that siphon off funds badly needed to produce the daily news report. But the blame has to go with near-sighted publishers who are incapable of launching new media startups. Instead of being bold and spinning off their editorial products into separate online ventures, instead of taking a risk, publishers are, as an industry, playing it safe.If they continue down this road, newspaper publishers will cede the communications business to Net-native publishers. They will miss the coming revolution in broadband and wireless digital technologies. They will not be part of exciting extensions of their core business, such as the creation of virtual communities, virtual malls and auction houses or partnerships in distance learning projects."