Mark Worth and Eric Nelson just won First Place from the Washington Press Association for best news story of 1994 in a non-daily paper, a story about Boeing's mistreatment of workers suffering from chemical exposure. And Mark Worth won First Place for editing three issues of the Free Press-the closest thing to a general award given out by the Association. We didn't win these awards because of our slick production or in-depth reporting about coffee drinkers, but because we actually have something to say. Even though we're just a gnat in the eye of the local dailies, our freedom from the pressures they feel allows us to cover things they can't. The business pages are full of tales of principled editors bailing out of major newspapers because of unrelenting pressure to blandify and shrink editorial and news content.
Newspapers are famous for stockholders who demand an exorbitant rate of return.
In contrast, we don't care if the Nordstroms ever advertise with us. We don't worry about losing subscriptions or ads from NRA true believers, flat taxers, shopping mall developers, or other misguided folks. Because they are more attuned to marketing and cozying up to elites with big ad budgets, local dailies are spotty on many basic economic issues, and often miss out on how the new economy is passing an increasingly large number of Americans by. The growth of economic inequality unprecedented in this half century prompts nothing more than a whisper. What passes for labor reporting is a business reporter sent to cover a strike.