Thom George: 2 Local Papers Are Different

Thom George: The S/R is a newspaper and reports NEWS. The CdA Press is, IMHO, a community paper; you know feel good stuff, tragic personal stories, high school sports, endless photo ops of donations; you get the picture. It’s why I subscribe to both papers. They each serve a different purpose.I think it is unrealistic to think that the Spokesman-Review could, or should, cover the type of small town, community news that the Press covers. OTOH, it would be equally unrealistic to expect the Press to cover the larger, hard news stories with the depth and breadth that the Review does. Apples and Oranges, my friend.

DFO: Thom was responding to a posting by DanG: “Dave: Would the S-R ever publish a letter like this one , but from the other perspective?” Thom’s response nailed it. The two local newspapers have different missions. We have a regional focus and an edition that emphasizes North Idaho news. The Press has a community focus that picks up what I call “chicken dinner” stuff — check passings, Little League team photos, chamber functions, etc. The Press can’t touch our big-picture and investigative coverage. We don’t have the space for the chicken-dinner stuff. An important story will make both papers. Each paper has its own function. For a city its size, Coeur d’Alene is lucky to have such coverage. Few towns in the 21st century have two newspapers and assorted TV networks competing like this. As a result, the truth generally comes out.