Knightfall Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism Is Putting Democracy at Risk |
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Author:
| Merritt, Davis |
ISBN: | 978-0-8144-0854-4 |
Publication Date: | Apr 2005 |
Publisher: | AMACOM
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Book Format: | Hardback |
List Price: | AUD $42.95 |
Book Description:
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With corporate balance sheets dictating what we read, freedom of speech is in peril⬠and freedom itself may be compromised. In 1974, two publicly held media empires merged to become one of Americaâ¬"s largest newspaper publishers. Knight Newspapersâ¬" editorial strengths and Ridder Publicationsâ¬" business strengths looked like a natural mix. But combined, the different cultures were constantly at odds. Thirty years later, Knight Ridderâ¬whose nearly three dozen daily papers include...
More DescriptionWith corporate balance sheets dictating what we read, freedom of speech is in peril⬠and freedom itself may be compromised. In 1974, two publicly held media empires merged to become one of Americaâ¬"s largest newspaper publishers. Knight Newspapersâ¬" editorial strengths and Ridder Publicationsâ¬" business strengths looked like a natural mix. But combined, the different cultures were constantly at odds. Thirty years later, Knight Ridderâ¬whose nearly three dozen daily papers include The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, the Detroit Free Press, and the San Jose Mercury Newsâ¬struggles to reconcile journalistic responsibility with what the author, a 42-year veteran of the company, calls â¬Sthe insatiable profit demands of Wall Street.⬠The factors that threaten (and shape) the editorial mission of Knight Ridder reveal a plague affecting virtually all of American journalism: as the wall between editorial and business departments crumbles, content is driven more and more by whatâ¬"s good for investors and advertisers rather than whatâ¬"s good for democracy. A free and unbiased press is a cornerstone of democracy, Merritt argues, and its erosion a catastrophe in the making: the real possibility that the kind of journalism essential to democracy will disappear. Knightfall includes dozens of interviews, as well as Merrittâ¬"s personal accounts of the changes of the past 30 years. He combines keen analysis with colourful portraits of Knight Ridderâ¬"s key personalities, starting with the founders themselves.