The Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced today that it is offering a "voluntary separation program" to all of its employees, including reporters and everyone else.
That newspaper might as well close its doors now and stop accepting money for its lousy product.
Cranky Greg received an e-mail from a long-time employee there and that reporter is devastated. The FWST laid off other workers earlier in the year and instituted a wage and hiring freeze. The morale is as low as it can be.
It's sad to see some of the newspapers going out of business. There is a human cost to the business failure, but on the other hand, they should have seen it coming. The Star-Telegram used to be a decent paper. Cranky remembers back in the 1970's that it had a morning and afternoon edition.
But that was before the Internet. And corporate buy-outs and takeovers.
The Star-Telegram, once owned by Knight Ridder and now by McClatchy, was homogenized by the corporate fat cats. Forget about regional differences, these fat cats said. Just as local radio was destroyed by corporate buyouts, so was the newspaper business. All Knight Ridder papers looked the same. All McClatchy papers look the same. Their websites are useless and look the same. There is nothing to distinguish the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from any other newspaper website out there.
And therefore, the Star-Telegram is likely to be out of business soon.
Newspapers should not become irrelevant simply because of the arrival of the Internet. The Internet should have been used to enhance the papers. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram should have emphasized its Fort Worthness. It should have been the single most important place to turn to if one wants information of Fort Worth.
Instead of carrying a bunch of national and world news on the website, it should all be local. It should be easy to find where the restaurant reviews are. It should be easy to find entertainment and sports information. It should be the one place that Texas Rangers fans turn to find out about the Rangers. It should be the place for local and state politics.
The paper should have a weekly or bi-weekly legal section to discuss local news in the legal community. It should be supported with a blog on the website where people can comment. There should be a section for the medical industry, real estate, food, travel, etc...
And it should have extensive coverage of local high school sports.
But the fat cats killed the paper by de-emphasizing its most important feature: its Fort Worthness.
Why buy a Star-Telegram now when it offers nothing original?
Instead of whining about the Internet, the fat cats should ask themselves if anyone would feel as if they missed something by not subscribing to the paper. In the Star-Telegram's case, Cranky Greg doesn't think most people would feel they missed a thing by not reading or subscribing to the thinning rag.
And who says the Star-Telegram has to be delivered in print? Make it available on the Kindle and on Blackberries and on IPhones. Be on the cutting edge.
Or go corporate and become irrelevant to the local scene and go out of business.