The Plain Dealer in Danger of Going Away? Say it Ain't So!

Fellow Ohio blogger, Brain Shavings brought to our attention this article from YAHOO News which predicts 10 newspapers that won't survive another year. Hereis the paragraph regarding the PD:

10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is in one of the economically weakest markets in the country. Its parent, Advance Publications, has already threatened to close its paper in Newark. Employees gave up enough in terms of concessions to keep the paper open. Advance, owned by the Newhouse family, is carrying the burden of its paper plus Conde Nast, its magazine group which is losing advertising revenue. The Plain Dealer will be shut or go digital by the end of next year.

Unlike my conservative brethren I'm not happy at the prospect of seeing the PD go away. Part of that is sentimental reason. As a kid all my spending money came from delivering the Plain Dealer. I come from a large family and every one of us had routes for several years. A kid learns a good work ethic when he has to get up at 5 AM and go to work regardless of the weather. My non-sentimental reason to want the PD to survive is Cleveland is my hometown and it would be a shame to see them go from a major city with two daily papers (The Cleveland Press closed shop some years back) to a no paper city.

I understand why conservatives are smiling at the thought of the PD and others suffering hard times. I'll admit many have gone hard to the left and have given up any pretense of objectivity. I can't visit the Cleveland area and read the local paper without my blood pressure going up. Doesn't matter. If Cleveland is going to remain a major city it must have a daily newspaper. I'll grant that more and more people are getting their news fix digitally. That doesn't completely replace a need for a hard copy paper. It does mean newspaper management needs to make changes to remain viable. Will the current management make those changes? Time will tell.