I ran into an old colleague from the Sun-Sentinel the other day who gave me the latest. Soon all the copy editing is going to be done from Chicago, leaving only "content providers" here in Fort Lauderdale.
You could argue that newspapers began their descent when management started referring to reporters and writers as content providers. Yet, as my friend noted, there are no feature writers left at the Sun-Sentinel; there are just people covering specific beats - entertainment, fashion, restaurants, etc. - who are primarily providing consumer information. Sometimes very stylishly, but it's still information. There are no stories about interesting people in the community, no columns about local culture, no humor pieces. Management has taken the readers' desire for news they can use and bled it - and the readers - dry, giving them nothing that can uplift or inspire or edify or amuse them.
The Sun-Sentinel was never a great newspaper - though its name appeared in every edition of The Best American Travel Writing from the anthology's inception in 2000 up until 2008 (a little-known fact). But for many years it provided thorough, thoughtful and often lively coverage of its community (especially its sports) and even (as noted) the world. It's sad to watch its cold evisceration.
