Fewer reporters, more lobbyists:

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Al’s
Loupe

Fewer
reporters, more lobbyists: ‘A crack in the foundation of our
democracy’

By
Alvaro F. Fernandez                                                        Read Spanish Version

alfernandez@the-beach.net

The
lousy economy is shaking the foundations of the newspaper business in
this country. Every day we hear of another newspaper closing its
doors or going strictly to Internet. And it’s not that
Internet-only journalism bothers me. What worries me most is that the
downsizing of newspapers is eliminating journalists who are losing
their jobs at an alarming rate.

As
much as I like to criticize The Miami Herald, for example, I also
realize what an important role they play in this community. As they
continue to pink-slip reporters, we are in danger of losing our most
important community watchdog, our sole major member of the Fourth
Estate. Love it or hate it, The Miami Herald was the only media
outlet with the capacity to churn out stories divulging how our extra
half-penny sales tax for transportation was being burglarized by
politicians and their administrators, or to put a spotlight on the
billions that have been lost at Miami International Airport, or to
cover so many other stories of graft and corruption that are part of
the daily life of many of our South Florida politicians (as an
example).

It’s
not only Miami being affected. The trend is everywhere. And with the
situation as it stands, the job of newspapers should become more
important, not one that may disappear. That is why I ask myself, “Who
will stand and represent the interest of regular Floridians?”

Tallahassee,
for example…

With
budget deficits the talk of the town, legislators are too often
swayed not to look at obvious solutions to get us out of the hole the
state has sunk into. Without suggesting we remove exemptions from
groceries, medicine or residential rents, in the past I’ve written
that more goods and services are exempt from the Florida sales tax
than the $22 billion the state collects.

But
this year, again, legislators in Tallahassee will look to make up for
a lack of funds by slashing money that should have gone to education,
health care and social services. They dare not deal with a 1998 tax
exemption on charter fishing boat trips, for example, that as
Tampabay.com reports, “State economists estimate costs the state
$71.3 million annually.” The report states that boat captains told
lawmakers that a sales tax would raise their prices to about the
$1,000 range. Higher fuel prices have already made their excursions
more expensive, they complained. The results, the charter fishing
boat captains explained, would deter customers, many of them
tourists, from renting a boat. To which Tampabay.com rightfully
retorted, “But how many customers with the means to drop $1,000 on
a boat trip will decide not to because of a $60 sales tax? That
interest cannot be more important that the state’s interest in
funding needed programs.”

During
my information search for this column I ran into staggering figures
that are downright disturbing (if not shocking) and points to what we
can expect in the near future coming out of Tallahassee. In a Tampa
Tribune report by William March, he warns that in the Florida capital
there are “about 18 to 20 full-time newspaper reporters, including
some on temporary assignments — or roughly one for every 165
registered lobbyists.”

Let
me repeat that, in Tallahassee this year, there is one
reporter for every 165 registered lobbyists.
And later we wonder why we’re losing this battle.

Speaking
of the loss of reporters in the same Tampa Tribune report, public
relations consultant Ron Sachs, a former high level official who
worked with Governor Lawton Chiles, may have said it best when he
termed the situation “A real crack in the foundation of our
democracy.”

Situations
like Florida’s will only become worse as there are less reporters
to cover the politicians making (and accepting) these rules. I’ve
just shown you an example of what is happening in our conveniently
hard to reach state capital of Tallahassee. Even some politicians are
worried. State Sen. Dan Gelber, who is running for the U.S. Senate
seat being vacated by Mel Martinez, told a reporter that “All
elected officials need to be watched.” No kidding.

But
let me leave you with something to mull over. Over the past several
decades major newspapers have been downsized by the major
corporations who bought them. The result has been less important news
coverage and investigations in places like Tallahassee and Miami.
It’s interesting to note that over that same period of time, as the
number of reporters has shrunk, lobbyist totals have skyrocketed, as
I just demonstrated happening in Florida’s capital city. One last
thought: the lobbyists happen to work for many of the same
corporations that own the newspapers.

My
question: “Who do you think is running this show?”