TOM SEEGMUELLER: An insider view of the local newspaper

I know I will never have some people’s flair for the turn of a word. Reality is I’m usually good to get 90% of the punctuation right and somewhat stick to any semblance of the AP Stylebook in my stories before never-ending deadlines.

As Forrest Gump would say, “I may not be the smartest man …” but much of what I have learned about the world around me has come from printed news sources. From the Wall Street Journal to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, I’ve been informed. I remember my disgust when the AJC announced they would no longer deliver their daily edition below Macon. Suddenly half the state was not worthy of receiving the paper of record for our state. I did not always agree with what they wrote, but I cherished the ability to read it and often get a counter point of view.

I came to the newspaper business late in life. Not by lack of desire but opportunity. That opportunity finally arose at the start of 2020. In hindsight that should have been a warning. But in January, who knew?

My brief inside view of the business has been interesting, to say the least. In the first quarter of the year, before COVID closed the office doors. as I sat and worked at learning the art of turning out stories in a fairly rapid time frame, I observed the other Herald staff members performing their duties.

I learned there is a sales staff working to keep current advertisers happy while seeking out new advertisers. Turns out although my subscription gets me a paper every day, it does not sustain the Herald. It may help, but in a larger part it gives the ad people a readership figure to show potential advertisers what they get for their dollar. In the end, it’s their dollar that feeds the beast.

Every day is a balancing act for the layout staff to inform the editor how many inches of print are required to fill the spaces around the advertising that has been sold. This in turn determines how many pages will be printed. There is no better evidence of this than the size of the Herald before COVID and after.

As I semi-novice reporter, I will not lie. The second thing I read in the Herald is the Squawkbox. The first thing I read are my articles to see how close I came to writing them in an acceptable manner. Reading the Squawkbox reminds me of the old half-page of “Letters to the Editor” that I grew up with.

The Squawkbox in many ways is a barometer of our community. It is also a good measure of what readers think about the Herald. On most days, it’s an even split of political and social ideologies, and that’s a good thing. To me it shows that, regardless of where they stand, people are reading the Herald.

I periodically hear readers espouse how they wish there was another paper to read, and I could not agree more. Two papers would be great. However, as printed news has been in decline for over a decade and Albany’s economy has declined, we are fortunate to at least have one that is hanging on.

Freedom of the press is considered one of the most important bulwarks of our liberty and was established by the Founding Fathers and guaranteed within the Bill of Rights. For journalists, this can be a double-edged sword. Unlike many forms of electronic “news,” we are signing off on a byline without anonymity. You May Not Like My Opinion, But My Facts Better Be Right.

The powers of the “Fourth Estate” and the ability of a free press to advocate and frame not only political issues but social, economic, and environmental, to name a few, issues is essential for transparency and accountability.

As an aspiring journalist, I’m lucky in another regard. I came into this as a paying side gig in my retirement. The reason I bring this up is to highlight the slippery slope print journalism is on. During the past six months, I’ve been laid off twice. No problem; I understand the concept of last-hired, first-fired. Like I said, for me this is a side gig.

However, for the rest of the Herald staff, this is their life. This is their career. Watching Carlton’s efforts to keep the wheels turning against current challenges makes it obvious local journalism is his passion.

So I ask you to take a moment and think about what will happen if we live in a community without a local newspaper. After doing so, I encourage you to contact your Congressional representative and ask that they support the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.