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Case Western Reserve University's independent student news source

The Observer

Case Western Reserve University's independent student news source

The Observer

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Living on a prayer

Each day The Plain Dealer, our city’s only daily newspaper, publishes the obituaries of Greater Cleveland’s deceased. And unless drastic steps are taken soon, it will soon be publishing its own.

Advance Publications, The Plain Dealer’s parent company, has already moved several of its other newspapers across the country to new models, which emphasize online content and only publish in print three days a week.

Fearing a similar directive from the paper’s owner, members of Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild have purchased advertisements around Cleveland, from billboards to bus placards, to raise awareness about the possible change. The Guild also hopes that community leaders, in addition to readers and advertisers, will attempt to convince Advance that Cleveland both desires and requires a seven-day-a-week newspaper.

As reported by WKYC-TV on Nov. 8, the looming threat has the potential to make Cleveland the biggest city in the nation without its own daily newspaper. The report went on to include supportive remarks from former Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald.

“Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and all of Northeast Ohio deserve a first-rate, seven-day-a-week newspaper the entire community can access…to move to anything less…will send a message [that] our region is [not] economically viable, and that is anything but the truth,” FitzGerald told WKYC-TV.

Many comments posted online tell a different story, though. Current and former subscribers voicing support for the paper moving to a new model cite reasons ranging from poor delivery service to lackluster reporting.

Meanwhile, many expressed that they believe that the city needs a daily newspaper in order to adequately serve senior citizens and people for whom internet access is not readily available.

As a collegiate newspaper editor, I feel obliged to support The Plain Dealer remaining a seven-day-a-week publication. However, I also believe that the seemingly large number of constituents who wish to see the paper minimized is quite telling.

If The Plain Dealer remains a seven-day-a-week newspaper, I hope the editorial staff, reporters, designers, and photographers, will take a good, hard look at the comments given by their audience, both the positive and the negative.

Our communities need great journalism. We need local reporters who care about the people and the issues they’re covering. We need watchdog investigators who can hold local leaders and businesses accountable.

Whether this should continue to come in the form of a seven-day-a-week newspaper, time will only tell. I fully believe that some stories are best told when newsprint is left on the readers’ hands. But if my options are between outstanding digital journalism and diluted print reporting, my decision is made and my computer is switched on.

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About the Contributor
Tyler Hoffman, Executive Editor & Publisher
. Fourth-year medical anthropology student Tyler Hoffman has served as Executive Editor and Publisher of The Observer since April 2012. As Executive Editor, Tyler is responsible for establishing and maintaining the direction of The Observer's print and online platforms. Formerly the News Editor, he specializes in research reporting and digital publishing, which are skills he honed as a health writer and editor with the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In addition to his work with The Observer, Tyler chairs the University Media Board and co-chairs the Student Executive Council. In April 2013, he was the recipient of CWRU's Outstanding Member of the Media Award. -- Outside of campus media, Tyler is the Division of Information Technology Services' Student Engagement Leader, in which he helps direct efforts to support students in their use of academic technologies at the university. When not working, Tyler, a passionate fan of food and cooking, enjoys kicking back with his friends and  tasting his way through the Cleveland restaurant scene. Reach Tyler at tyler.hoffman@case.edu and on Twitter @tylerehoffman. .

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