Category: Media

Who could blame Arnie Robbins for quiting his job as editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch? With the resources of the paper, owned by Lee Enterprises, constantly eroding he realized he could never “do more with less” as he had once hoped.

So after more than six years as editor (and before that nearly seven as managing editor), he announced he was leaving the paper on May 18. As he approached age 60, he said he wanted “to embark on the next chapter of my life.”

Rumors flew that he was being pushed out, just as nearly half of the paper’s editorial staff has been terminated since Lee bought Pulitzer Inc. and the Post-Dispatch in 2005. But Robbins said no: “This was entirely my decision.”

While there may be some truth to the common thought that the print newspaper is dying, this statement carries more truth for some news sources than others.

In the age of digital media, newsroom cut-backs, and a general cloud hovering over the journalism industry as a whole, small newspapers claim that they are carrying on almost completely as they had before.

Gary Sawyer, editor of the Decatur Herald and Review in Illinois, knows a major factor in his paper’s customer loyalty is credibility.

While getting news to the customer quickly has always been a major goal of every news source, the digital age has brought forth a new level of delivery speed, which in turn has affected the credibility of news in general.

Arnie Robbins resigned as editor of the Post-Dispatch last week.
His resignation followed years of hard financial times that included a structured bankruptcy. The most recent circulation figures showed the Post-Dispatch losing circulation both weekday and Sundays. Robbins will be replaced by Gilbert Bailión, the editorial editor. Here are Robbins remarks to the newsroom:

There’s an interesting story coming out of the Wisconsin recall election. The latest polls show Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, in a virtual dead heat with Tom Barrett, his most likely opponent. This comes despite a huge advantage in advertising spending by Walker.