The more than half-century slide in newspaper circulation and fortunes isn't a single-reason problem. The declines in the 1960s weren't caused by the same factors as today. That said, for the last two decades, newspapers -- the AJC among them -- have devastated their news staffs, reduced content to intellectual gruel, become fearful of the powerful in the community and the nation, etc. etc. They -- and I include alternatives in this, as well as dailies -- have abandoned the very things that gave them vitality and made them must-read publications for engaged citizens. So, if Jim Kennedy hired me to run his newspaper group, I'd build back the news staffs, make investigative watchdog journalism the hallmark of the newspaper (and that means going after mayors, presidents and corporations, and not just picking the low-hanging fruit of state agencies), hire the most incisive columnists available (I find it hard to imagine the rampant fear of news managers who tremble at the thought of another Grizzard, when if they want their paper to survive they should field a half dozen bold news columnists). And newspapers must get honest about themselves. People don't trust them because they know they don't report -- report truthfully -- on themselves. As Carl Bernstein has said on several occasions, media groups and newspapers are among the most opaque institutions in America. Cox has even hired publicists to assist in keeping news about itself from reaching people in Atlanta, as I have detailed. And yet the Cox folks want us to trust them to be gatekeepers of information necessary to build and sustain a great community. More than anything, newspapers need competition. The last time I saw two dailies go through years of getting better was during the circulation war between the St. Pete Times and Tampa Trib during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Trib (where I worked) was owned by one of the most backwards thinking media companies in the nation, yet even it forged ahead into great journalism for one reason: competition. In Atlanta, I worked for the Constitution back when, even with common ownership, there were two newspapers that vigorously competed, and both were better products than the sad offering today. I also think newspapers need to explore other forms of ownership. As I wrote in my farewell column, there are no longer any publishers like Jack Knight, who said he would rather be remembered for putting out the best newspaper rather than the most profitable one. The St. Pete Times remains one of the best newspapers in the nation precisely because it is owned by a non-profit. That's a model that should be experimented with in other cities. Democracy must have informed citizens to survive -- and what's clear is that in today's media model, the last priority is good journalism.

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It's a pretty easy -- indeed, sleazy -- criticism from Jay Smith. If he had got beyond the ad hominem attack ... but, well, he didn't do that. I don't know what messes of mine he's talking about. But his messes are pretty clear, a continuing steep slide in circulation and the accompanying erosion of quality at newspapers he ran. There are any number of former and current AJCers who will be glad to tell Smith just how awful the morale and culture have become under his watch. December, when he said he made his decision, was a mere four months ago. That is significant, not that Smith would tell you why. It followed the November Audit Bureau of Circulation report that showed another dismal decline in circulation -- 9 percent. Sounds to me like the perfect reason for James Cox Kennedy to tell Smith: "Pick your exit strategy." Smith's recollection about CL's stock is amusing -- and wrong. Our board investigated and found Cox had acted unethically. The board included national leaders in journalism, finance and business, and notably the harshest assessment of Cox came from a retired managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, every bit Smith's peer. Smith doesn't challenge my assertion, based on comments from Cox employees, that the AJC is on the road to financial losses this year. Haven't seen that reported. Those losses likely would have been another good reason for Kennedy to tell Smith: Announce your retirement, pal. The Kennedy that Smith lauds -- he's often described as the most hated many in Montana, where he has a sprawling ranch and a feudal regard for the state's citizens. Kennedy's deeds include running live electric wires across publicly owned rivers to stop the public from using public roads to get to public lands to float down the public rivers. Frankly, Sam Zell, the "grave dancer," seems like a nicer guy. The issues I've reported on about Cox have been well documented, although you won't find them in the pages of the AJC. They include: -- The AJC not reporting on FCC deregulation proposals in 2003 that would have meant billions in revenue to Cox -- until it was too late for citizens to voice their opinions to the FCC. -- Cox hiring publicists to keep information reported by one of Cox's own reporters, Elliot Jaspin, from reaching ATlanta. That information, not surprisingly, dealt with the AJC's shoddy race reporting. -- Cox being stripped of broadcast licenses in Miami due to "inappropriate" relations with an FCC commissioner. -- The shutdown of the Miami News, resulting in federal probes of Cox, including for manipulation of Knight-Ridder stock. Cox shut the News after promising that it would preserve a second editorial voice in Miami. -- The firing or resignation of two of Cox's most talented editors for refusing to endorse Nixon in 1972. The endorsements were apparently a quid pro quo for Nixon dropping opposition to media monopolies called Joint Operating Agreements. Just to ensure this isn't, as Smith asserts, my "mess" -- the story was broken by Ben Bagdikian, America's foremost media critic. A Columbia Journalism Review account can be found at: http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/91/6/joa.asp -- Cox's free-spending lobbying of the FCC and other federal agencies for media monopoly and consolidation efforts. Don't look for those stories in the AJC, which in itself is another story.

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