I can no longer read this newspaper. Amateurish journalism is a turnoff.
I await the day my parents end their subscription to The Capital.
Or just cut out the middle man and wait until the capital goes the way of other newspapers and shuts down. You may be chagrined by the quality of the writing/reporting, but think about the void left in the absence of a robust local newspaper presence, even if only in the form of a mediocre publication.
The local newspaper is a reliable (although declining) instrument to hold the local government accountable while no one else is watching, fill people in on details they need to know, hold together the spirit of community, give a voice to those who otherwise would lack one entirely, air perspectives that might have no other outlet (including advocacy groups forced to do the work of newspapers with waning man power), uncover intimate information about local politics (including local scandals), and deploy one more scrappy line of defense to confront the powerful. And, for the talented would-be capital reporters destined to surpass the standards of the newsroom where they first cut their teeth, there’s one less training ground for them to learn the basics of a profession that’s needed now more than ever.
Be careful about rejecting something important simply because its imperfections make it an easy mark.
