The Spokesman-Review announcement was the most dire, but newsrooms across Idaho are smaller than they were before. That includes the Idaho Statesman, which over the past several months has declined to fill some positions as they go vacant, including a state reporter position and a business section editor. But Vicki Gowler, editor of the Statesman, said her newsroom underwent a major reorganization in September and that it isn't as simple as mere attrition. The reorganization includes more focus on getting material online, and faster. The shrinking statehouse reporting team, she said, is due more to the shrinkage of the statehouse itself than to financial issues. Still, she acknowledged, "this is the most challenging time I've seen as an editor." In Lewiston, Paul Emerson, the managing editor of the Lewiston Tribune, said that even though his smaller market is different, and more stable than others in the state, he's still delaying new hires as long as he can. The Spokesman-Review layoffs, he said, sent shock waves through his newsroom and others. "Everybody pays attention when something like that happens," Emerson said/Shea Andersen, Boise Weekly. Full story here.

DFO: I fear that the future of the news media in Idaho is more "Good Morning America" puff pieces and fewer freedom-of-information act stories to force public officials to release information. With all the technology of the 21st Century, we may be about to enter a media dark age in this state. Alas.

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