Deja Vu

I don't mind reading articles from the "Cronkite News Service."  That's a fancy name for "articles written by the kids at the ASU Journalism School that the paper gets for free."  That's fine.  As the newspapers cut costs, they will increasingly rely on free content from students and bloggers.   I don't see any difference in the quality of the students' articles compared to those the regular reporters, so why not use the free stuff?

What does annoy me is when both the Tribune and the Republic use the same story.  I can understand both the Trib and Republic using the Associated Press to cover, say, the Iraq war, or a shooting in Kansas.  But this is just lazy.

Here's the Republic's version.

Bills impeding abortions could find advocate in Brewer

by Maria Konopken - Cronkite News Service

During the last legislative session, Rep. Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, sponsored a bill that, among other things, would have increased penalties for those who perform a type of late-term abortion sometimes characterized as "partial birth."

Here's the Trib's version.

Anti-abortion legislation likely to return soon
Cronkite News Service

During the last legislative session, Rep. Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, sponsored a bill that among other things would have increased penalties for those who perform a type of late-term abortion sometimes characterized as "partial birth."

Ironically, these articles come on the same day that the Republic published a long story about a reporter named Albert Sitter who died over the weekend.  Apparently Sitter was big back in the day when individual reporters mattered.  That hasn't been the case for nearly 20 years and now that generation is passing away. 

The Cronkite stories mark another milestone.  The reporter is not just a cog, he's a disposable cog.  The classic curmudgeon career reporters like Sitter who were dominant until the 1970s  were replaced by increasingly faceless but still well paid and well respected reporters in the 1980s and 1990s.

During those years, a reporter didn't START his career at the Republic.   He started at the Siera Vista Herald and then he moved to the Arizona Daily Star and then was hired at the Republic to cover the Avondale City Council and work in the mail room.  Those were the days when qualified applicants would camp all day--sometimes multiple days--in the Republic's lobby on the off chance they could score and entry level mailroom job and bypass the Harold or the Bee.   

Once he was in the door, he would hope that in 10 years, he could cover the capitol and work under John Kolbe, Keven Willey or Richard De Uriarte--where he would be regaled by stories of how great a Governor Bruce Babbitt was.

In the last decade,  senior reporters began to be laid off in favor of junior ones and now the junior ones are being replaced by kids who work free.  It's hard to compete with free, so expect to see more bylines containing the word "Cronkite." Pretty soon, we will see the Cronkite kids on the Friday night Journalists' Roundtable on Channel 8--talking about the state budget while texting their friends under the table.  

Post Script:

This type of obsolete profession story is common in history.  One of my favorite tellings is Jack London's classic short story "A Piece of Steak.   

Comments

[Dewey]

I don't mind it a bit. Reading this story was actually a bit of fresh air. Both sides of the issue are presented; actual persons are quoted with attribution, instead of the common and lazy "Some people say" that you often get in these kinds of stories; the reporter went to the trouble to do a little background research and share her results; and the article was intelligently written.

I'll take more of these, and every paper on the planet can publish them if they want.

[Appleblossom]

I echo what the above poster stated, quality reporting is quality reporting so why not have it in both papers? It is nice to see that the Cronkite school is putting out quaility reporters as well.

[Kim]

I worked a statewide campaign this year and the only news source to call after the results were in was Cronkite. Those kids were always on top of the story and asked good questions. The interpreted the data well and REPORTED without editorializing.

Unfortunately, they will go to work at Wal-Mart when they graduate because the paper can't afford them and the new class will take their place.

[jdleslie1]

Why would it bother you and strike you as lazy? It's a news service they apparently both subscribe to. Do you think the laziness is in not picking up the phone and calling the competitor and and asking if they plan to use that Cronkite News Service story? Cause if not, we're going to use it. C'mon, Greg, you know it doesn't work like that. They made separate judgments that the story was worth printing.