The Merc Countdown Clock

So, the Merc lost another editor yesterday. And before we're even done re-arranging the deck chairs!

The writing is on the wall. Any semblance of what the Merc was even ten years ago is all but gone. As the organization struggles to survive, it seems clear that it can't maintain both reporting and distribution. And maybe not either.

If the choice has to be made, which goes? Or which goes first? Which is the more valuable component of the paper? The local voices and insights (which have dwindled rapidly over the past few years), or the tangible news source that shows up each morning (which has likewise dwindled in reach)?

Does the newspaper become a niche product? Does it shift entirely to neighborhood-based free weeklies? Does it become an online news center that sells the content it generates? Does the advent of Kindle-like epaper presage a unique system for distribution?

But more importantly, what's the impact on the community? The Merc plays two roles: it reports on the news and it is the stern, (semi-)objective voice of reason in the Valley. As the first has been gutted, the second is wilting less slowly - and it's the second that will have a harder time finding a home. Who steps up as the objective analyzer of what's happening in San Jose?

On a national level, there's a growing vacuum for this role. Think of the Presidential race. TV, print and some web organizations banded together to create a sense of what was and wasn't in bounds. (Take, for example, the "Obama wants to tell 5 year-olds about sex" issue.) Fifty years ago, a stern editorial from the Times would have settled it.

On a local level, of course, there isn't that combination of trusted groups that could help guide the conversation. And that's a critical role - even though I often disagreed with where the Merc focused attention, it helped ensure that attention was being paid. Without such attention, without the Merc, for example, following up on the Sunshine proposals, who is shining light on what the City government is doing? Just disreputable hacks whose rantings are easily dismissed as biased. Ahem.

Down in San Diego, an online venture, VoiceOfSanDiego.com, has initiated an attempt to step into that role, based on serious reporting that was being neglected. But, as an article in the New York Times reports, there are serious questions about the venture's sustainability.

And sustainability is the key. The Mercury News earned its role as watchdog and gatekeeper through decades of work in the community. An organization with a shorter lifespan will have a much more difficult time speaking as the voice of the community - it simply won't have the institutionalized trust of the people of San Jose. At least not for a long time.

The answer to nearly every question posed above, of course, is: we'll see. We'll see how changing habits in news consumption and acquisition shift patterns of trust among consumers. We'll see what decisions MediaNews makes as it tries to keep the Merc solvent - even as those decisions, like shipping reporting overseas threaten people's trust in the paper. We'll see what, fifteen years from now, appears on our doorsteps on Sunday mornings. Or, on our epaper devices.

In the meantime, the Merc is hiring. But keep your resume up-to-date.