News

The Rise and Fall of South Florida's Daily Newspapers

A A A Comments (24) By Lisa Rab Thursday, Nov 19 2009

Anders Gyllenhaal, executive editor of the Herald, is quick to point out that his paper still has an edge in terms of actual readers in print and online. According to the September numbers, it had 5.2 million unique web users a month. "We reach more people than we ever have in our history," Gyllenhaal says.

Still, more web readers don't necessarily translate into more money. Online ads generate just a fraction of the revenue of print ads.

C. Stiles

Rochelle Gilken was one of 300 people who accepted buyouts from the Palm Beach Post.

C. Stiles

After a 30-year career in newspapers, Tom Dubocq is now a private investigator.

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"There are virtually no online news operations that are really, fully supported with ad revenue," says Edmonds.

Newspapers are struggling to cope with the massive shift in the way people get their news. Since 1992, the proportion of Americans who say they read a newspaper regularly (in print or online) has fallen from 71 percent to 46 percent, according to a 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Meanwhile, the percentage of people watching cable-TV news has continued to rise — 39 percent of the public was watching last year, according to the Pew survey.

Then, of course, there are those who prefer to get their news online. A December 2008 Pew survey found that a whopping 40 percent of Americans said they got most of their national and international news online. However, a 2009 report by Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism points out that "virtually all of the most popular news websites are those associated with traditional news organizations... or are aggregators, which collect content from traditional newsrooms and wire services rather than produce their own." In other words, traditional journalists are still producing the news people seek on the web.

As for why families stopped bringing the paper to their breakfast table, some say it's the quality of the news being delivered.

Since the '90s, publicly owned media companies have been cutting their newsroom budgets to preserve high profit margins on Wall Street. This tactic hit investigative reporters especially hard, since they earn higher salaries and write stories that take longer to produce. But without good muckrakers on staff, the quality of reporting went down and drove away customers, says Eleanor Farnen, president of the media consulting firm Strategists LLC and a PhD candidate at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

"If you're going to protect your brand in the newspaper business, you have to protect your content," she says. "The people in the newsroom, they keep the content alive."

Still, a lack of investigative journalism doesn't explain why USA Today, until this year, had the highest circulation of any paper in the country. Its short, simple news stories and fluffy celebrity pieces could hardly be considered hard-hitting journalism.

Perhaps there's a simpler explanation for the death of the fish wrapper. If people can hear about the latest murder trial online or on TV, they don't need to read a summary in the next day's paper. "If it doesn't surprise you," Dubocq says, "nobody's gonna buy it."

In 2006, Rose asked Dubocq to start digging into rumors about corruption on the Palm Beach County Commission. Dubocq combed through then-Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti's divorce files and land records, piecing together a panorama of questionable deals and missing money. Every day, his discoveries got more alarming.

"Have I told you how good I am today?" he'd ask Rose. "Let me tell you what I found today."

Before his first story on Masilotti broke, Dubocq called an old friend, John Kastrenakes, then an assistant U.S. attorney in West Palm. "Hey, Johnny," Dubocq remembers saying. "Take a look at the paper on Sunday."

The story explained how Masilotti used a secret land trust to make $1.3 million off the South Florida Water Management District's purchase of 3,000 acres of land in Martin County. Dozens of follow-up articles chronicled more land deals that netted $10 million for Masilotti, while then-County Commissioner Warren Newell also raked in about $500,000 by voting for deals that benefited him — including the water district's $190 million purchase of rock pits in western Palm Beach County.

Soon, the federal prosecutor indicted Masilotti and Newell on corruption charges, along with prominent lobbyist William Boose III and real estate consultant Daniel Miteff, who were involved in some of the tainted deals. All four landed in federal prison.

Dubocq kept writing, winning national recognition for his investigation. In June 2008, he was still detailing the widening federal probe surrounding the County Commission's plans for a new convention center hotel.

Two months later, he was gone.

At age 55, with a salary approaching six figures, Dubocq could see it was best to retire. Investigative reporting jobs were being axed all over the country, and he wasn't willing to find out whether his was next. His buyout package from the Post included health insurance — a perk he wouldn't get if he waited for a layoff — and eight months' pay. It was a generous sendoff, especially considering what happened after he left.

Suddenly, South Florida newsrooms became the kind of offices that journalists normally ridiculed in print: corporate and obtuse, with a layer of fear and dread hanging over them like smog.

At the Palm Beach Post, managers were shifted and reporters taken off beats they had covered for years, spurring resentment, confusion, and inconsistent coverage. Thanks to a series of newsroom "re-orgs," some reporters were drowning in work while others wasted hours reading magazines and applying to grad school. The south Palm Beach County bureau was reduced to a ghostly room full of empty cubicles where a few stray reporters tried not to think about how long the lights would stay on.

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Joe Shea 07/19/2010 11:04:00 PM

I started The American Reporter 15 years ago when the Milwaukee Sentinel shut down the same day it told its reporters it was closing. I wanted journalists to have a newspaper they owned and profited from. We still make money 15 years later, although some of our best writers have left or died or retired. Just the same, it's an ideal that we ought to strive to reach together as journalists. We are always open to you. This was a terrific piece.
arturo 06/25/2010 12:23:00 AM

Two days ago Palm Beach Newspapers announced their intention to close down La Palma in July. Its now "official" they've given up on the hispanic reader in Palm Beach County.
arturo 12/21/2009 12:46:00 AM

Yet another nail was driven into the coffin of spanish language newspapers in South Florida. This past week additional layoffs were announced on the editorial staff of La Palma. What had been a small staff and ever decreasing newshole shrank more when the paper's only designer and two copy editors/reporters were let go. With a planned limit of 16 printed pages for this weekly, Palm Beach Newspapers have effectively given up on the hispanic population.
Grouper 12/16/2009 3:24:00 PM

For too long the Miami Herald aka Miami Rag and the Sun-Sentinel relied too much on ad revenue from Auto Dealers and Real Estate Ads. Thou can not live on ad revenue from Brandsmart alone. The bust in both markets sent revenue in the tank but the spending did not slow fast enough. Covering National and International stories was something that should have been left to Associated Press etc but the local paper pushers felt the need to justify their existence and spent and spent... Editorial content too was erratic. The Herald English and Spanish version had different directions and political view points that to read both would make your head spin like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. I enjoy reading the newspaper and still subscribe to the SS. They have not invented a program that allows a web page to be thumbed fast like a catalog. This story only took 7 clicks to read. Chances are I will read it again in print. I wish newspapers well but some deep thinking needs to be done. Perhaps raise rates to cover expense would be a small start.
Young Journalist 12/07/2009 4:59:00 AM

A very well-written piece. The author did a good job capturing the feeling of a lot of veteran reporters and the hay-day of journalism of the 20th century. It's those stories that sparked the fire for all of us to get into this industry, and it's a shame it isn't still at the same level. However, I hope the New Times does a follow-up article about the future of journalism - because there is a future. Many young journalists, like myself, still see a vibrant future in this industry. Hearing all of the nay-sayers would diminish anyone's hope of reviving this industry. Newsrooms are shrinking at an alarming rate, the quality is slipping with overworked staffs and the day of doing the in-depth investigative pieces are few and far between. That's a sad but true fact in any newsroom - small or large. But instead of letting an industry with such history and importance die out, I would hope the News Herald would talk about what newsrooms are attempting and what these new-age journalists are doing. No newsroom has all of the answers, but there are a lot of things happening to attempt to stop the bleeding. The industry will probably never be as prestigious as it was, but as long as there are corrupt officials, wrongdoings needing to be uncovered and an audience wanting the information to be presented to them (now more than ever, in one form or another) real journalism will be needed.
Late-Comer 12/07/2009 2:00:00 AM

This is SO last year's news. Where was this Lisa Rab character when the layoffs were actually taking place? Is she even from South Florida? I'm tired of reporters writing about reporters waxing nostalgic about when they "kicked ass" regurgitating press releases and covering spot news. Will somebody please put this Ft. Lauderdale New Times shit-rag out of its misery?
Greg Melikov 12/02/2009 7:33:00 PM

What a great piece. It hits the nail on the head, especially for this HeraldAlum, 1965-97, plus a couple of years working part-time editing and reporting for the Broward edition. I saw the handwriting on the journalistic wall -- and the Internet. Cable TV also hurt. Well, we had too many meetings over the years when I was night slot on the state desk and I often suggested better time could be spent putting out the product. So I retired early missing buyouts before and after, but nary a hiring or wage freeze. I've been freelancing for years and we are living as well now as we did in those great newspaper years. The keywords: Plan ahead and move ahead.
Christian Louboutin Sale 11/28/2009 11:29:00 AM

good choose,good luck
wayne arnold 11/24/2009 8:59:00 AM

A very well written chronicle about the death or impending death of many South Florida news publications. The New Times has always told it as it is in their investigative and new's reporting stories. Your human interest features are both entertaining and well written. You are lite years ahead of other print publications revealing political scandle that usually never sees the light of day. For years I have always enjoyed reading the Sun Sentinel because they used to have interesting political reporting particularily when Political Columnist Buddy Nevins was writing a weekly column each Saturday. Usually, he was right on the money with his colorful political insight. I'm now 70 so I remember gifted newspaper people like Bill Baggs of The Miami News and Miami Herald Political Columnist John McDermott (wrong spelling?). Now you wouldn't miss their columns for anything. Life was so damn exciting back then.
Katie Kay Holmes 11/23/2009 1:08:00 PM

That's a great story. I like the point that so many reporters are being silenced. I wonder if the reason behind this is that internet reporters are getting so much dirty laundry made public that further exposes the corruption, in turn feeding the printed press and putting more heat on those politicians - as opposed to internet reporters doing print reporters out of a job. I like the angle. Is this part of a concerted effort to shut down or at least reduce the amount of information sharing within the overall community so the politicians have more freedom to do their dirty work? At least if all the news becomes web-based, it can be discredited as ramblings of disgruntled past-employees posting on their blogs, whereas the same information in printed form is probably given more credibility; at least more permanence.
StewartIII 11/22/2009 10:51:00 PM

NewsBusters: Publisher Suggests Fake Happy Face Response to Grim Newspaper Cutbacks http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2009/11/22/publisher-suggests-fake-happy-face-response-grim-newspaper-cutbacks
whitey 11/22/2009 7:14:00 PM

These newspapers constantly refuse to identify the racial profile of the perpetrator of crime.They will state what color of the clothes,the color of the car they were driving at the time of the incident but won't say what color their skin is. They report stories like this. The Herald sent Rose to cover the 25th anniversary of James Meredith's pivotal civil rights victory as the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. The white majority doesn't give a damn about this.Predominantly white schools are not improved by the integration of blacks. We want less crime and better schools and an end to discrimination against more qualified whites in jobs an school admissions.
MT 11/22/2009 7:04:00 PM

This article trumpets the same-old, same-old "journalist as superhero" motif that has been shoved at the rest of us since the late '30's. Absent is any sort of analysis of the viewpoints of reporters that always creeps into the stories, and the viewpoints are almost always liberal: fearmongering about guns, worrying about SUVs, and the usual vapid government love. Newspapers are dying? No-one will attend their funerals because they've been screwing us over for years. Good riddance.
Arturo 11/22/2009 1:21:00 AM

There's a side to this story, that I am sad to say, has been completely overlooked. Namely, the fate of locally produced, spanish language newspapers. All three major newspaper companies have spanish language versions currently in print. El Nuevo Herald, el Sentinel and La Palma (the latter two which are weeklies), that operate in the same business environment as the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel and Palm Beach Post. In fact, the launch of El Sentinel (in 2003) and La Palma (in 2004) are a direct result of the real estate boom that fed south Florida's recent newspaper wars. And these papers are now experiencing declines, due in large part, to those changing fortunes of war, threatening their long term viability. But, some blame must also be placed on poorly conceived plans which often lacked proper funding, advertising support and staffing. The a result is visible in decreasing page counts, shrinking numbers of full-time journalists and a decrease in originally produced stories. Not to mention a diminished profile in those very communities they were created to serve. But, unlike their english language counterparts, it isn't only reduced economic circumstances and changing readership habits that have diminished these once promising newspaper experiments. But neglect, benign or otherwise, by the parent company, that increasingly sees their spanish language "step children" as nothing more than exercises in community public relations. It can perhaps be argued that the inability of management to exploit the business potential of spanish language newspapers, is emblematic of the overall malaise affecting our industry. But, in a community as diverse as ours, it is also a form of cultural bias. Outside of Miami, spanish language and bi-lingual readers are treated like second-class citizens and are perceived, by the english language press, as an invisible minority. Sadly, upper level newspaper management, perhaps reflecting a general lack of diversity in its upper echelons, are clueless as how to reach these potential customers or fail to see their value as readers to their bottom line. Or worse yet, think that putting out a substandard product is enough to do the job. And they're wrong.
Ty Poe 11/21/2009 6:26:00 AM

This in an interesting, well researched article. What I find most telling is that almost all of the anecdotes about chasing big stories and spending good money to do so came from the Post and the Herald. Speaking from experience, I can tell you this: While the Post and Herald were spending on good stories, the S-S managers were busy making sure the Election Night pizzas only had one topping. (Sausage AND pepperoni on that pie? Not on my budget! Not when we have to go to California several times to write Scripps Institute stories!) While the Post was going to South America to tell the full story of a scared young girl who left her newborn to die, the S-S was making sure that job candidates had the right -- cough, cough -- credentials. The Post became known for buying a model of the notorious voting machines and revealing that some of the most problematic precincts were in heavily minority areas. The S-S became known for having a weekly, sometimes daily, quota of stories about the Scripps Research Institute. And that's the facts, Jack.
Poster Girl 11/19/2009 10:51:00 PM

Post Trauma is right on. Rochelle has been a role model for dozens of reporters who�ve come up through the Post and Sun-Sentinel in recent years. Her work redefined crime reporting itself and her poignant writing style moved many to tears. Many times I�ve heard reporters in the Post newsroom staring at a blank screen mutter to themselves: �How would Rochelle write this?�
Post Trauma 11/19/2009 10:38:00 PM

Rochelle Gilken is one of the most talented reporters ever to work at the Post, if not the most talented. Her decision to leave newspapers shook the South Florida media world like few things before it. She is sorely missed and South Florida newspapering will never be the same now that she�s gone.
Kathryn Quigley 11/19/2009 7:20:00 PM

Well-researched story. Good job. I worked at the Palm Beach Post from 2000 to 2002. I remember revenue being good enough that we actually got overtime every now and again (like for the 2000 Presidential Recount). Overtime. Sigh. I wish I had gotten to work with Rochelle. She sounds awesome. If I had known Dubocq was making "close to six figures" then damn, I would have been asking to borrow money!! At least to buy some extra mustard-crumb chicken in the Post cafeteria. Nom. Nom. THAT is what the Post smelled like to me:)
Tom Dubocq 11/19/2009 1:58:00 AM

To the ex-Fort Lauderdale News person: Good catch (and amazing memory) on the writer's tiny error about my time in Broward County. I covered the Broward County Commission for the Sun-Tattler, not the Miami News. Seemed like I was there a lifetime considering all the stories I had to bang out on a teletype machine. And the free Christmas boose absolutely happened. Commissioners dropped it off; nobody took it but a guy named Paul something who worked for Ft. Lauderdale News. I got my out-of-order sign from the legendary AP reporter Milt Sosin and used it during big trials at the old Miami Federal Courthouse, not in Broward. Very effective.--Tom Dubocq
Ian Lamont 11/18/2009 10:40:00 PM

If journalists' attitudes toward new ways of doing things is to be characterized by scorn (as evidenced by the reaction to the chief innovation officer's memos) the profession is doomed.
A South Florida Journo 11/18/2009 8:29:00 PM

Thanks Rochelle. We are all apparently moronic schmucks sticking it out at newspapers while your esteemed television station does a story about maternity ward security in which they interview you, a station employee. Now that's hard-hitting journalism. But at least you got to be on TV! Also, this story implies that the only reason for a drop in readership is quality. Obviously, there are myriad news sources, and pseudo news sources, fragmenting readership and news consumption, period. That's just one of the many flaws in the story's reporting.
Ex-Fort Lauderdale News 11/18/2009 6:37:00 PM

As a former News reporter in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I read this story with interest. However, I was baffled by Tom Dubocq's memories. He mainly worked as the education reporter for the Hollywood Sun-Tattler during his time in Broward. He never worked regularly at the Broward courthouse press room after he moved to the Miami News, which struggled to cover Dade and paid little attention to Broward news. He probably showed up once in a great while to cover something. That was it. The corrupt reporter accepting cases of booze from county commissioners is fiction. So is the story about hanging "out of order" signs on pay phones. The courthouse had a phone about every eight feet. If you needed one, judges, bailiffs and clerks were glad to let you use theirs. I know these anecdotes are just newsroom lore, finely honed by Tom over the years to entertain young reporters. However, they shouldn't be presented as fact.
edward 11/18/2009 3:34:00 AM

While the big dailies are troubled, look around and see how Florida's smaller papers with circulation under 100,000 are thriving. Yes they don't pay as well as the larger papers, and the prestigue is not as great, but they are having an impact that is overlooked in this drumbeat of alarms over the future of the Miami Herald and the other big papers. The Naples Daily News is thriving and just built a new headquarters and color press.
Amy 11/18/2009 3:30:00 AM

Great story on sad but apparently inevitable evolution, New Times. And to think, when I was a staff writer at the Miami Herald in the early 1990s, we barely glanced at the "alt" papers in the region. Now apparently, you will be the last one standing. Poetic justice, I suppose. Best, Amy Alexander www.AmyAlexanderInk.com Silver Spring, Maryland