Foreign Press First on Story of Coeur d'Alene Shooting

Much of the early coverage of the Coeur d’Alene shooting came from overseas news media. I commented about this online, but I wasn’t suggesting it was the work of a foreign terrorist. The first question that arises is, why Coeur d’Alene? A terrorist could get more attention in a crowded urban setting, especially if under the orders of a hostile power.

Coeur d'Alene. Credit Bill Colley.

Let me offer a frank assessment. American newsrooms are empty on Sunday afternoons. Many are vacant all weekend long, and often on weeknights.

Newsrooms are Under Duress

Thirty-five years ago, I worked in a radio newsroom that had dual morning and afternoon news anchors. We had nighttime reporters, and someone on duty overnight. I was always on call and was at many homicide scenes at 3:00 on a weekend morning.

I worked weekends in TV news during the early 90s, and we no longer had anyone on overnight weekends, however. Weekdays, we did. By the late 90s, there was often just a photographer and a news anchor putting together weekend evening news.

The radio newsroom that I worked in from 1989 to 1996 is now staffed by two part-time news anchors. That’s it. Consolidation was the mantra of corporations sucking up media properties, and to increase shareholder value, the old business model was tossed overboard.

Finding News Requires Work

I learned about the tragedy in Coeur d’Alene shortly before going to bed, and unlike the old days, there wasn’t anyone on call. I was on the telephone and lining up some guests for Monday morning. Understand that if I lived in Coeur d’Alene, the nearest radio station that purports to cover news is in Spokane. I’ll wager there was nobody on the clock.

This is the future. You could fire a cannon through most newsrooms and never hit a soul.