COVID Update – The Press is Weak

Alternative media continues to ask questions.

The mainstream press provides news coverage that favors government agencies, departments and policies.

We are at a place where alternative media and comedians are asking the questions and highlighting the issues.

Small town newspaper (image at top of page) displays junk mail style advertising instead of front page news. The small papers will say they need more support from subscribers and advertising dollars or cash from the federal government to stay alive. All this because COVID or the internet or lack of newspaper sales, or a free and independent press that needs taxpayer support.

People who take no public funds, private donations or advertising dollars are free to ask questions at any time. Why not the press? Call for unpaid volunteers and you’d get better news coverage than what we have now.

Same newspaper as in the photo at top of page:

$6.3 million in federal cash for a used hotel.

December 8, 2022 The Daily World

Dept. of Ag invests $6.3M to purchase Ocean Shores hotel

$6.3 million “to fund the acquisition of an existing hotel. Marathon Enterprises Inc. is located in Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County, Washington. The project is expected to result in saving eight jobs and creating one full time job.”

Zero questions from newspeople.

No sense in subscribing to newspapers that do not ask public policy-related questions.

Ready to Support Local News on Whidbey Island

It looks like both Whidbey papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.

I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of newspeople asking questions.

Elimination of reader comments works against the idea of paying for an online subscription.

Manage it, don’t ban it. Online comment sections

JFK speaks about the role of the press in a free society: