T he organs of the Louisville media, low and high, have for years received recognition for their quality and accomplishments. Louisville papers have been important editorial voices for almost the entire period of the city s history. WHAS Radio, a pioneer in broadcasting, has a clear-channel signal that allows it to be heard at night throughout much of the continental United States. These outlets dominated the market. However, in the last few years, cheap printing, gaps in the market and the exodus of fed-up Courier employees have brought Louisville quite a number of new papers and magazines that have shown unusual staying power.
Television is much like it is anywhere else.
The stations brag about helicopters more than about their reporters experience or abilities. Bad weather the 1994 blizzard, the tornado of 1996, the flood of 1997 brings out their best and most valuable reporting. Still, the local television news is, according to those familiar with other markets, less sensationalistic and more serious than in many other places. When you travel to a city of a similar size Tulsa, say the Courier s quality, no matter how vestigial, hits you with a wallop. The paper s editorial voice is liberal, although it s come rightward a bit since the days when it urged readers to march in protest of Richard Nixon s second inauguration.