David Simon misses you

St. Louis Post Dispatch
Originally uploaded by jwinterscom

I was recently listening to the Bill Moyers Journal podcast with guest David Simon who wrote one of my favorite shows The Wire. One of the many topics of discussion was how devastating the loss of the 4th estate would be to our society and to our local communities.

I could not help but wonder well take a look at St. Louis. Sure our local paper still carries metro area news but on the smaller scale there is an obvious vacuum in local information down to the neighborhood level. We used to have the Suburban Journal but as their title suggest retracted to the markets which bear their name.

I currently subscribe to 20 or so local oriented blogs and I am thrilled that these individuals take the time out of their day to write about topics that really drill down to a specific theme. The hard part is to do it day after day while covering every aspect of an area. This no one unpaid could do.

I am certain Lily Pulitzer is happy she sold when she did and part of me is not sorry to see the Post go as it will meet the fate it dealt to so many of its competitors. I can only hope that the new model steps into its place soon less we as a public be left in the dark even if it is mundane it still should be checked to determine if its newsworthy.