The economic crisis has its most visible face unemployment. All sectors are affected by the cut of templates, from finance to the automotive world, from construction to tourism, a list of casualties which is not lacking, of course, journalism. The figures are appalling. In Spain , for example, 16 percent of these professionals looking for work and more than 2,000 reporters have been fired since it was unleashed credit cancer. In the U.S. 30,000 "pens" were left on the street in 2008 and things are not looking good for this year given that staff cuts are on the agenda. The Tribune group (holder of headers as the LA Times, Chicago Tribune and many others), CNN, Conde Nast (magazines like Vanity Fair, Vogue) or Time, to name a few, have become detached from their teams to overcome evil economic drink. The thing is evil everywhere, the press would be less right? But under this "squad" of journalists behind range side effects that go beyond the reduction of the pages of a newspaper: the crisis is undermining the ability of media to fulfill their watchdog role of politicians, is torpedoing the waterline of the "fourth estate".
In the U.S., a country of reference in investigative journalism, the reporters low popularity (high wages) has led several writers begin to worry about health coverage that is made of the management authorities .
James Rainey of the LA Times pointed in that direction in his column of March 20 .
"Newspapers continue, to some extent, with its historic role to lead and shape the political debate 
but they have slashed their workforce, to menundo losing its most experienced reporters (and the higher salary), due to the awful recession and the flight of Internet advertising, "said Rainey, who several political consultants said that the effect the crisis is leaving notes and in the quality of information reporters who manage to authorities.
The first visible result is that parties are using the arrival on the scene of laborers inexperienced information to "sell" propaganda as news content that would previously have paid to see them published on paper.
A little picture that looks like the conditions in which Woodward and Bernstein worked to uncover the scandal Watergate in The Washington Post in 1972. It is questionable whether today any means is able to devote many resources to investigate a similar case This is worrying, as well as sad. "Imagine you drive by the 5 (U.S. interstate highway). There used to be a couple of patrol police to keep people under control. Now they are gone and everyone knows it. This can desenvocar quickly in a situation like 'Mad Max' (classic apocalyptic film about a society which was ruled by the law of the jungle), "said Chris Lehane, a veteran Democratic consultant, who did not hesitate to describe journalists as the law enforcement policy that ensure because the leaders do not get drunk on power.
Undoubtedly, the high fevers that journalism suffers because of the crisis may have other reading and being the beginning of a change-for many inevitably from paper to web. At the forefront of this transition is the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, one of the largest U.S. state newspapers that on March 17 began closing its physical release and concentrated his efforts to inform Internet users.
The network is undoubtedly a world of communication posibiliades, usually a sea of news, which suffers from lack of credibility in many cases. Internet is also a refuge for prestigious firms, which can keep writing about what happens around even after being fired, but without the support of a media group that can protect your work when you have a burning issue at hand. The web is still a disaster where each drawer make war on their own, where the reporter is exposed in the first person to the elements. 
It is not the same as The Washington Post published a corruption case or to do a blogger on its Web site certainly is not. Could you open a new 'Watergate' and support research from a blog? In the future perhaps today I doubt it.
The economic dark period has revealed the weakness of the means to comply strictly with their social role, insufficient resources in the traditional press and to charge too much responsibility on the shoulders of the burgeoning blogs.
Conclusions that are on the same page that the latest report from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism about the state of journalism in the U.S. in 2008. Interesting study show that the funding problems of the media, the decline of research on the political and the shift to internet, both from the large media groups and, above all, by journalists in their personal capacity.
The love of journalism that "Watergate" will enjoy in a few weeks of "State of Play", a film in which Russell Crowe retrieves the image of street reporter of "old dog" who asks questions uncomfortable and unable to modernize their methods . Crowe is investigating an incident involving a senator who will take you to uncover a story that could not imagine. I recommend it.
# 1 by Oscar on 25/03/2009 - 22:22
Great reflection, Pen. The trend is worrisome because managers seem to forget the media that the key asset and differentiator of the products they produce, the news is just journalists.
Pay a living wage not force them to prostitute their professional conduct, give them appropriate training, career plans have to avoid stagnation and stagnation, not just labor demands: we are talking about constitutional rights, as quoted columnist Mary Benedict in a recent article on this website.
It seems appropriate the term "laborers of information", where the payment is by weight.
Released two ideas: first, maybe you should raise a public-private ownership of multiple shareholders in the media, as we are not talking about a simple commodity, but a right, as I said, with constraints on economic and political rights as well as flexibility on the cost to obtain. Let the media subject to the publication takes the current situation. The second, the recovery of functionalism: the media are not exclusive, but complementary, so let Internet emerges in its own right for the immediate and separémoslo the paper to return to their place of reflection. If "The New York Times" has no radio or TV, why should I have a website?