NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen today asked people to report how many news stories their local newspaper produces on any given day. He has his own reasons for the project, but in any event, the data that’s pouring in is fascinating. I submitted results for my local dailies: The Boston Globe had 23 in-house news stories and 19 sports stories in the paper today, while The Boston Herald offered 17 and 13. (Please see the caveats at my comment, and let me know if I’ve erred.)
How do those figures compare to other local newspapers? The Richmond Times-Dispatch, for one, is said to have produced 23 news stories and 6 sports stories today. None of these counts include the web, where plenty of additional work is being done, but it’s valuable data for those conversations about what’s being lost as newspapers cut back. My early impression: not quite as much as some might argue, but still a lot.
