It’s easy to see that Register, Whitewater’s local paper for 152 years, is in a period of transition. In all of this, there’s a different type of newsprint, less likely to leave ink on a reader’s hands. So much has been said about lipstick on pigs, that there’s nothing left to say on the newsprint for the paper.
Inside. There’s information about the October 3rd Make a Difference Day in Whitewater. It’s a fine effort, and registration may be completed at http://www.uww.edu/involve/forms/mad.php
Front Page. There are four front page stories in the Register this week: A donation to the local food pantry, the retirement of local physician Dr. Anne Griffiths, a story on disaster aid provided to Walworth County residents, and a story of the increase in Walworth County’s population.
(One sees that Walworth County has a population of over 101,000 – just enough for a dream town, I’d guess. Congratulations. Just don’t let La Grange take all the credit.)
Two of the stories are serious, and two are local human interest stories particular to Whitewater.
The four stories represent legitimate coverage options for the Register: local human interest, stories on county government without a transparent political angle, or serious scrutiny of local government, corporations, and organizations.
The Register has mixed local human interest stories and straightforward county government coverage with local political bias.
Cover human interests stories, especially from a benign but ironic angle, and the Register would have something interesting, and a paper that might appeal to a more upscale reader. There might be initial subscriber loss, but the paper would develop a devoted readership and a reputation for wit.
Cover local government in a straightforward way, and the paper would collect another group of devoted readers who would feel that they were offered insightful analysis. Again, some readers would walk away, but those who remained would be worth having. The paper would develop a reputation for serious analysis.
The paper has a third option, one that it will – here I am sure – never take: a serious muckraking paper, confronting political incumbents and their career appointees. The paper would have a rich field of targets: flimsy excuses, mediocre work, parochial views, and the laughable conviction that a few and their friends represent a special class whose needs and views trump those of others.
The Register can continue along its present course, so long as a publishing chain pays for that course. I think it’s probably the worst course the paper could take, as journalism or prudence. It’s easily maintained, though, as long as out-of-town advertisers think ads in the Register are valuable to them.