December 2
GUEST: Phillip Pantuso, award-winning journalist, editor of the new weekly magazine, The River, and contributing writer for The Guardian, The New York Times, and Yes! Magazine, talks about publishing local news and articles that break the conservative mold.
Phillip Pantuso
It was interesting to hear the problems of local journalists first hand. Here in the Hudson Valley, we have watched the major papers become thin and brittle versions of their former selves. It is like reading parchment paper, and I feel sorry for all the reporters who no longer ply their trade in empty newsrooms.
But to tell the truth, local news has always been lame. There was never very much national or international new, and the stores they carried had always been screened by many sieves before they hit the light of day. The recent consolidation of radio, TV stations, newspapers, and magazines, just means that all their stories are vacuous in the same way. Now most articles have become full length advertisements for local businesses.
Just like real history is too interesting to appear in classroom textbooks, real political or personal drama rarely breaks to the surface in local publications. That's why I am hopeful about some new magazines like The River. They carry some stories about racism, police violence, poverty, and social justice. By being honest about what is going on around them, they capture our attention. How do they dare write about this stuff? Will the publication be sustainable if it doesn't trumpet the capitalist class?
We will see, and the suspense will keep us reading The River.
