In a discussion Thursday, panelists argued local news media coverage is in a definite crisis.

Panelists involved in the discussion, which was titled "Contemporary Challenges to Covering Local News," included Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Newhouse of the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune, John Nichols of the Madison Capital Times, Eugene Kane of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, news director Carmelyn Daley of WISC-TV in Madison and Chicago-based WFLD-TV anchor Mark Suppelsa.

"Local media is in a crisis," Nichols said. "We're doing a lousy job. We cover garbage and tons of it."

Admitting Fox affiliate WFLD's broadcast does not cover local Chicago news as well as it could, Suppelsa said his station is constantly pinched by the Fox corporation.

"We cannot cover Chicago and its suburbs with only 10 reporters," Suppelsa said. "Even with an hour long broadcast (at 9 p.m.), we're a headline service that rips our stories from the newspapers."

Daley said one of the challenges of her news station is deciphering what her audience wants to see covered, especially when trying to appeal to not only CBS's traditionally older audience but younger viewers as well.

"We know viewers like to see their neighborhood on TV, but then it becomes an issue of making the story relevant to the rest of the viewers," Daley said. "Our viewers also have an appetite for investigative journalism without the skankiness."

Daley said the investigative reporting she'd like to do would not include the 'skankiness' of hidden cameras and overly aggressive confrontations.

The main challenge Newhouse faces is covering the circulation area of the Great Falls Tribune — 5,200 square miles in Montana.

"It is fairly easy for me to go through and identify what residents of Great Falls want to see, but the rest of the state is a different story," Newhouse said. "Money needs to be put back in reporting so we can cover what we need to cover."

WFLD-TV imported Suppelsa from the NBC affiliate in Chicago to attract a wider audience in addition to Fox 32's mainly black viewers.

According to Kane, local news has to deal with what the city is like and who its residents are.

"I'm always trying to cover issues important to the black community," he said.

However, newspapers' coverage of diverse communities is threatened by economic and budget issues.

"We compete with other places that are willing to spend money," Kane said.

While the panelists agreed covering local news was the highest calling of journalism and a genuine way to be in touch with the public, Nichols said the news media has trouble relating to its audience.

"We accept a status quo that is out of touch with the people we're trying to reach," Nichols said.

Another concern of reaching people is the low readership among people under age 30.

Kane said youth-oriented papers like the Chicago Tribune's RedEye insult the intelligence of younger people and is not the way to attract people 30 and under to read the newspaper.

Nichols said there is a crisis of who goes into journalism.

"Journalism used to be filled with people who were losers and didn't fit in anywhere else," Nichols said. "Journalism has become too professionalized. We're supposed to be the bad boys and bad girls."

The panelists also agreed empty and vapid editorials pose a threat to local newspapers.

"The terrible crisis in journalism is most towns are one newspaper towns that neuter their editorials to not offend anyone," Nichols said. "A healthy newspaper has editorials that spark debate and are even offensive."

Daley said her WISC-TV has started producing "gentle" editorials.

Countering Daley, Kane supported more aggressive editorials.

"Strong opinions are personal opinions no matter what the issue is," Kane said. "There is no need to have an opinion unless it's a strong opinion."

Possible solutions to solving the local news dilemmas included using new technology to attract an audience.

According to Nichols, there is nothing that can be done concerning the amount of people who go to national cable channels like Fox News to obtain news bent to their ideology.

"The founders of this country gave us freedom of the press which allows debate," Nichols said.

Suppelsa said stories themselves could be a solution to this problem.

"Good stories told well … anybody's going to watch or read them," Suppelsa said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 12 2005.