On more than one occasion I've been taken to task by various staffers of the Houston Chronicle for my incessant criticism of the fading company. Usually, their argument falls something like this:
"They're human beings that work there".
Of course, the staffers are correct. With the possible exception of Ken Hoffman, the employees of the Houston Chronicle are human beings. That is why I don't call for anyone to lose their jobs, except for the members of the Editorial Board, many of whom are either there ceremonially or who have personal wealth to a level that they can afford to stop preaching.
The reporters and other staff? I want them to stay around and keep working, keep reporting etc. While it's true that I think the newspaper would be better given a refreshing of the editorial direction, that doesn't mean that I want anyone to "lose their job". They are people with families and pets after all.
Conversely, I wonder what they would say if you asked them for the same respect?
Probably just to shut up and keep purchasing their product. Because, when it comes to reporting on the rest of us, they seem to find people losing their jobs in the private sector pretty damn funny.
Oil crash memes bring humor to petroleum's plunge. Craig Hlavaty, Chron.com
Now, granted, Chron.com is the wart on the ample backside of the Hearst Media empire. It's where we're given the social media beat, tantalizing headlines that naked bodies are just a click away and lectures on what we SHOULD be doing from Jr. reporters with J-school degrees and little life experience. In short, it's a tabloid masquerading as media.
But it's still part of Hearst Corp and (ostensibly) the Houston Chronicle. That's why it's so jarring to see a newspaper poke fun at people getting laid off and losing their livelihood. When you juxtapose that to the same publication's serious treatment of government losing tax revenue a clearer picture starts to form:
Region braces for impact of declining sales-tax revenue. Mike D. Smith & Mike Tolson. HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
You have read here, many times, of the courtesan class. A group of people who's sole purpose in life is seemingly to prostitute themselves to the ruling class without regard for appearance or propriety. They are the modern-day equivalent of court jesters and they have firmly imbedded themselves in the media.
To the courtesans the loss of income by people is a joke, something to be mocked and laughed at. The true tragedy is when the ruling class has to face reduction. That cannot stand. There was a time, when newspapers and media engaged in something they still like to jokingly call "accountability journalism". The inside joke is that they no longer hold those with power accountable at all. The media prefers to go after the ruled, not the rulers. And they honestly believe that they are held in special favor for that.
So, the next time a staffer from the Houston Chronicle chides you for reminding them of just how bad they're doing, make sure to point them to these two articles (or, if you're clearer thinking, this blog post which contains both). If they try to say that "they're people too" you should probably tune them out. What they're really saying is that they don't want to listen to criticism, and that the problem is not them, it's you.
Which is what they always think. The problem is you.
The day is coming where enough problems are going to look at legacy media and decide the abuse makes the relationship not worth maintaining. Maybe we're already there?
