The Loss of the Trade Press Covering the Media Industry: Why it matters

[Commentary] Multichannel News, Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek, Ad Age,TV Week, Broadcasting and Cable. All of these outlets either have closed or scaled back their Washington (DC) coverage. These D.C.-based reporters played an incredibly important role-not just covering their own industry for insiders, but providing consumer and public interest advocates real insight into what the industry was actually saying and doing. Trade reporters are a crucial part of the journalistic ecosystem-their loss is another indication of how the entire journalistic enterprise is collapsing. It cannot be replaced solely by bloggers. It takes real shoe "leather" and digging into the facts on a daily basis they helps keep an industry accountable-and the public informed (including industry insiders ).