A crew from the local PBS affiliate, KAET-TV (Channel 8), came out last week to interview me for a really great segment they were doing for the show Horizon about the future of journalism here in Arizona. It took a look at a number of former newspaper folks who have moved to the web. My friends and former colleagues over at the Arizona Guardian were featured, too, as the segment explored some of the work we are all doing to bring quality journalism online here in the Valley.
As part of the look at the future, Horizon also talked to Tim McGuire, the former executive editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune who now teaches journalism at Arizona State University. McGuire had a lot of compliments of the work being done at the Guardian and Heat City. He also expressed a lot of skepticism about the ability of the public to subsidize quality journalism.
Obviously, I don’t share his skepticism. Otherwise I wouldn’t have launched Heat City last month to bring readers the information they aren’t getting elsewhere. Since I started this site, I’ve found a surprisingly large number of locals who value quality news. Some of you have told me you aren’t finding that elsewhere on a consistent basis. Some of you just like what I’m brining to the conversation.
There’s a lot of uncertainty about the future of journalism, not just in Arizona but all over the world. The industry has perhaps never faced a tougher time. But communities still care about their news, and I’m confident they will rally around their best journalists and support the work.
Watch the segment for yourself, and please let me know what you think. Leave your comments below or send me an e-mail. Thank you to all who have continued to support Heat City and the work being done here.