With the recent and substantial reduction of The Herald and its staff, I was wondering when the dam of disgruntled readers would burst onto the letters section such as was the case recently. Having been a subscriber since the late ‘70s I’ve watched The Herald and other print media struggle to retain a foothold in the information age. We’ve seen magazines, other newspapers and advertising media get kicked to the curb with a thud.
People have to remember that The Herald is not a non-profit business. They have bills to pay like other businesses. Selling advertising does that and I’m certain they would much rather sell the paper rather than chop it to pieces. Much of what we see each day now is outsourced and those are not free. We’ve seen long term Herald employees sent packing and others taking frequent vacations. The news that comes out now is less news and more human interest bits that, while interesting becomes a bit redundant. You can only tolerate so many kittens and puppy stories.
The Herald on July 2, 2015 ran a story by Noah Haglund with a headline that read “Snohomish County leads all others in population growth”. It’s a shame that The Herald has had difficulty keeping pace with that. When the Washington Post sold the Herald and a new ownership took over, a decided culture shift was noticed. It wasn’t the same. The recent announcement of the further downsizing was done in a fashion that came across as a “Like it or Lump it” message to the readers. Too bad, so sad?
If The Herald finally closes, and we all hope it does not, they I say, go down swinging! Make some noise instead of being this mouse in the corner waiting for a crumb.
Rex Jennings
Snohomish
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