When local news dies, so does democracy | Chuck Plunkett

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Krystian Aparta

Prevodilac: Ivana Korom Lektor: Milenka Okuka

I've been a journalist for more than 23 years,

Novinar sam preko 23 godine,

at the "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,"

od "Arkanzas Demokrat-Gazete",

the "Pittsburgh Tribune Review"

preko "Pitsburg Tribjun Rivjua"

and most recently, "The Denver Post."

i najskorije, "Denver Posta".

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

When I started at "The Denver Post" in 2003,

Kada sam počeo u "Denver Postu" 2003,

it was among the country's 10 largest newspapers,

to su bile jedne od 10 najvećih novina u zemlji,

with an impressive subscriber base

sa impresivnim brojem pretplatnika

and nearly 300 journalists.

i skoro 300 novinara.

At the time, I was in my 30s.

U to vreme sam bio u svojim tridesetim.

Any ambitious journalist that age

Svaki ambiciozni novinar tih godina

aspires to work for one of the big national papers,

želi da radi u jednim od najvećih nacionalnih novina,

like "The New York Times" or "The Wall Street Journal."

kao što je "Njujork Tajms" ili "Vol Strit Žurnal".

But I was simply blown away

Ali ja sam jednostavno bio raspamećen

by my first few weeks at "The Denver Post,"

mojim prvim nedeljama u "Denver Postu",

and I thought, "This is going to be my paper.

i pomislio sam, "Ovo će biti moje novine.

I can make a career right here."

Ovde mogu da gradim karijeru."

Well, seven years passed,

Pa, prođe sedam godina

we were sold to a hedge fund,

i prodati smo investicionom fondu,

Alden Global Capital.

Alden Global Kapitalu.

Within a few years --

U roku od nekoliko godina -

(Laughs)

(Smeje se)

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Some of you know this story.

Neki od vas znaju ovu priču.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Within a few years,

U roku od nekoliko godina,

buyouts ordered by past and present owners

otpuštanja koja su naredili prošli i sadašnji vlasnici

would reduce the newsroom by nearly half.

smanjiće redakciju za skoro polovinu.

And I understood.

I razumeo sam.

The rule of thumb used to be that 80 percent of a newspaper's revenue

Nekada je bilo pravilo da 80 posto prihoda novina

came from pricy print ads and classifieds.

dolazi od skupih štampanih reklama i malih oglasa.

With emerging giants like Google and Facebook and Craigslist,

Uz gigante u usponu kao što su Gugl, Fejsbuk i Kregslist,

those advertizing dollars were evaporating.

taj novac od reklama je nestajao.

The entire industry was undergoing a massive shift from print to digital.

Cela industrija je prelazila iz štampane u digitalnu.

Alden's orders were to be digital first.

Alden je naredio da digitalno bude prioritet.

Take advantage of blogs, video and social media.

Koristite blogove, video i društvene medije.

They said that one day,

Rekli su da će jednog dana

the money we made online would make up for the money we lost in print.

novac koji zaradimo onlajn nadoknaditi novac koji smo izgubili u štampi.

But that day never came.

Ali taj dan nikad nije osvanuo.

In 2013, we won a Pulitzer Prize

Godine 2013. osvojili smo Pulicerovu nagradu

for covering the Aurora theater shooting.

za izveštavanje o pucnjavi u pozorištu Aurora.

Alden ordered that more journalists be cut.

Alden je naredio da se otpusti još novinara.

Again,

Opet

and again,

i opet

and again,

i opet

and again.

i opet.

We were forced to say goodbye to talented, hardworking journalists

Morali smo da se oprostimo od talentovanih, vrednih novinara

we considered not just friends

koji nisu bili samo prijatelji

but family.

nego i porodica.

Those of us left behind were stretched impossibly thin,

Mi koji smo ostali išli smo na sve strane,

covering multiple beats and writing rushed articles.

izveštavali o svemu i pisali zbrzane članke.

Inside a windowless meeting room in March of 2018,

U jednoj sobi za sastanke bez prozora, u martu 2018,

we learned that 30 more would have to go.

saznali smo da još 30 mora da ode.

This paper that once had 300 journalists

Ove novine koje su nekad imale 300 novinara,

would now have 70.

sada su imale 70.

And it didn't make sense.

To nije imalo smisla.

Here, we'd won multiple Pulitzer Prizes.

Osvojili smo više Pulicerovih nagrada.

We shifted our focus from print to digital,

Preusmerili smo se sa štampanog na digitalno,

we hit ambitious targets

postizali ambiciozne ciljeve,

and email from the brass talked up the Post's profit margins,

i dopis sa vrha je hvalio zaradu,

which industry experts pegged at nearly 20 percent.

za koju su stručnjaci iz industrije govorili da je skoro 20 posto.

So if our company was so successful and so profitable,

Pa ako nam je kompanija bila tako uspešna i profitabilna,

why was our newsroom getting so much smaller and smaller?

zašto nam se redakcija sve više smanjivala?

I knew that what was happening in Colorado was happening around the country.

Znao sam da se u celoj zemlji dešava ono što se dešavalo u Koloradu.

Since 2004,

Od 2004,

nearly 1,800 newsrooms have closed.

zatvoreno je skoro 1 800 redakcija.

You've heard of food deserts.

Čuli ste za pustinje hrane.

These are news deserts.

Ovo su pustinje vesti.

They are communities, often entire counties,

To su zajednice, često celi okruzi,

with little to zero news coverage whatsoever.

o kojima se veoma malo ili uopšte ne izveštava.

Making matters worse,

Da bude još gore,

many papers have become ghost ships,

mnoge novine su postale brodovi duhova,

pretending to sail with a newsroom

pretvaraju se da plove kao novinska redakcija,

but really just wrapping ads around filler copy.

ali u stvari samo ubacuju oglase oko generičkog teksta.

More and more newsrooms are being sold off to companies like Alden.

Sve više redakcija se prodaje kompanijama kao što je Alden.

And in that meeting,

Na tom sastanku

their intentions couldn't have been clearer.

njihove namere nisu mogle biti jasnije.

Harvest what you can,

Iskoristite šta možete,

throw away what's left.

bacite ono što preostane.

So, working in secret with a team of eight writers,

I tako, radeći u tajnosti u timu od osam pisaca,

we prepared a special Sunday Perspective section

spremili smo poseban deo za Nedeljne poglede

on the importance of local news.

o važnosti lokalnih vesti.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The Denver rebellion launched like a missile,

Denverska pobuna lansirana je kao projektil

and went off like a hydrogen bomb.

i eksplodirala kao hidrogenska bomba.

[In An Extraordinary Act Of Defiance,

[U izuzetnom činu otpora,

Denver Post Urges Its Owner To Sell The Paper]

"Denver Post" nagovara svog vlasnika da proda novine]

['Denver Post' Editorial Board Publicly Calls Out Paper's Owner]

[Urednički odbor "Denver Posta" javno proziva svog vlasnika]

[On The Denver Post, vultures and superheroes]

[O "Denver Postu", lešinarima i superherojima]

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplauz i ovacije)

Clearly, we weren't alone in our outrage.

Očigledno nismo bili sami u svom besu.

But as expected, I was forced to resign.

Ali kao što sam i očekivao, naterali su me da dam otkaz.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And a year later, nothing's changed.

I godinu dana kasnije, ništa se nije promenilo.

"The Denver Post" is but a few lone journalists

"Denver Post" čini nekoliko usamljenih novinara

doing their admirable best in this husk of a once-great paper.

koji zadivljujuće daju sve od sebe u ovoj ljušturi od nekad sjajnih novina.

Now, at least some of you are thinking to yourself,

Sad, bar neki od vas sigurno misle,

"So what?"

"Pa šta?"

Right?

Je l' tako?

So what?

Pa šta?

Let this dying industry die.

Neka umre ova umiruća industrija.

And I kind of get that.

Donekle shvatam to.

For one thing, the local news has been in decline for so long

U neku ruku, lokalne novine toliko dugo propadaju,

that many of you may not even remember

da se mnogi od vas verovatno ni ne sećaju

what it's like to have a great local paper.

kako je to imati sjajne lokalne novine.

Maybe you've seen "Spotlight" or "The Paper,"

Možda ste gledali "Pod lupom" ili "Novine",

movies that romanticize what journalism used to be.

filmove koji romantizuju nekadašnje novinarstvo.

Well, I'm not here to be romantic or nostalgic.

Pa, ja nisam ovde da budem romantičan ili nostalgičan.

I'm here to warn you that when local news dies,

Ovde sam da vas upozorim da kada lokalne vesti umru,

so does our democracy.

umire i naša demokratija.

And that should concern you --

A to bi trebalo da vas se tiče -

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplauz i ovacije)

And that should concern you,

To bi trebalo da vas se tiče,

regardless of whether you subscribe.

bez obzira da li ste pretplatnik.

Here's why.

Evo zašto.

A democracy is a government of the people.

Demokratija je vladavina naroda.

People are the ultimate source of power and authority.

Narod je krajnji izvor moći i autoriteta.

A great local newsroom acts like a mirror.

Odlična lokalna redakcija je kao ogledalo.

Its journalists see the community and reflect it back.

Njeni novinari vide zajednicu i reflektuju je.

That information is empowering.

Te informacije daju moć.

Seeing, knowing, understanding --

Viđenje, znanje, razumevanje -

this is how good decisions are made.

tako se donose dobre odluke.

When you have a great local paper,

Kada imate odlične lokalne novine,

you have journalists sitting in on every city council meeting.

imate novinare koji sede na svakoj sednici gradskog veća.

Listening in to state house and senate hearings.

Slušaju debate na državnom nivou i u senatu.

Those important but, let's face it,

I ona važna, ali priznajmo,

sometimes devastatingly boring committee hearings.

ponekad užasno dosadna saslušanja odbora.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Journalists discover the flaws and ill-conceived measures

Novinari otkrivaju mane i pogrešno zasnovane mere

and those bills fail, because the public was well-informed.

i ti zakoni propadaju jer je javnost dobro obaveštena.

Readers go to the polls

Čitaoci idu na glasanje

and they know the pros and cons behind every ballot measure,

i znaju dobre i loše strane svake predložene mere,

because journalists did the heavy lifting for them.

jer su novinari uradili teži deo posla umesto njih.

Even better,

Još bolje,

researchers have found that reading a local paper

istraživači su dokazali da čitanje lokalnih novina

can mobilize 13 percent of nonvoters to vote.

može da mobiliše 13 posto neglasača da glasaju.

Thirteen percent.

Trinaest posto.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

That's the number that can change the outcome of many elections.

Taj broj može promeniti ishod mnogih izbora.

When you don't have a great local paper,

Kada nemate sjajne lokalne novine,

voters are left stranded at the polls,

glasači su ostavljeni na cedilu,

confused,

zbunjeni,

trying to make their best guess based on a paragraph of legalese.

pokušavaju da pogode na osnovu pasusa pravnog žargona.

Flawed measures pass.

Prolaze manjkave mere.

Well-conceived but highly technical measures fail.

Dobro osmišljene, ali veoma tehničke mere propadaju.

Voters become more partisan.

Glasači su još više stranački nastrojeni.

Recently in Colorado, our governor's race

Nedavna kampanja za guvernera Kolorada

had more candidates than anyone can remember.

imala je više kandidata nego što iko može da zapamti.

In years past,

Prethodnih godina,

journalists would have thoroughly vetted,

novinari bi detaljno proverili,

scrutinized, fact-checked, profiled, debated

ispitali činjenice, uradili profile, ispitali

every contender in the local paper.

svakog kandidata, u lokalnim novinama.

"The Denver Post" did its best.

"Denver Post" je dao sve od sebe.

But in the place of past levels of rigorous reporting and research,

Ali umesto ranijeg nivoa rigoroznog izveštavanja i istraživanja,

the public is increasingly left to interpret

javnost sve više mora da tumači

dog-and-pony-show stump speeches and clever campaign ads

vašarske govore i pametne promotivne kampanje,

for themselves.

sama za sebe.

With advertizing costing what it does,

Sa sadašnjim cenama reklama,

electability comes down to money.

izbori se svode na novac.

So by the end of the primaries,

Do kraja prvog kruga,

the only candidates left standing were the wealthiest

jedini kandidati koji su preostali su bili najbogatiji

and best-funded.

i najbolje finansirani.

Many experienced and praise-worthy candidates

Mnogi iskusni i kandidati vredni hvale

never got oxygen,

nikad nisu dobili šansu

because when local news declines,

jer kada se lokalne vesti gase,

even big-ticket races become pay-to-play.

čak su i važne trke dostupne samo onima koji plate.

Is it any surprise that our new governor

Da li je iznenađujuće da je naš novi guverner

was the candidate worth more than 300 million dollars?

bio kandidat težak 300 miliona dolara?

Or that billionaire businessmen like Donald Trump and Howard Schultz

Ili da biznismeni milijarderi kao što su Donald Tramp ili Hauard Šulc

can seize the political stage?

mogu da zgrabe političku scenu?

I don't think this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind

Mislim da Očevi osnivači SAD-a nisu ovo imali na umu

when they talked about free and fair elections.

kada su govorili o slobodnim i fer izborima.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplauz i ovacije)

Now this is exactly why we can't just rely on the big national papers,

Upravo zato ne možemo da se oslonimo samo na velike nacionalne novine

like "The Journal" and "The Times" and "The Post."

kao što su "Žurnal", "Tajms" i "Post".

Those are tremendous papers,

To su izuzetne novine,

and we need them now, my God, more than ever before.

i, bože, sada su nam potrebnije nego ikad.

But there is no world in which they could cover

Ali ne postoji svet u kom one mogu da pokriju

every election in every county in the country.

sve izbore u svakom okrugu u zemlji.

No.

Ne.

The newsroom best equipped to cover your local election

Redakcija koja najbolje može da pokriva vaše lokalne izbore

ought to be your local newsroom.

trebalo bi da je vaša lokalna redakcija.

If you're lucky and still have one.

Ako imate sreće da je još uvek imate.

When election day is over,

Kada se završi izborni dan,

a great local paper is still there, waiting like a watchdog.

sjajne lokalne novine su još uvek tu, čekaju kao pas na straži.

When they're being watched,

Kada ih posmatraju,

politicians have less power,

političari imaju manje moći,

police do right by the public,

policija je pravednija prema ljudima,

even massive corporations are on their best behavior.

čak se i ogromne korporacije najlepše ponašaju.

This mechanism that for generations has helped inform and guide us

Ovaj mehanizam koji nas je generacijama informisao i vodio

no longer functions the way it used to.

više ne funkcioniše kao nekad.

You know intimately what the poisoned national discourse feels like,

Dobro znate kako izgleda zatrovani nacionali diskurs,

what a mockery of reasoned debate it has become.

kakva sprdnja razumne debate je postao.

This is what happens when local newsrooms shutter

To se dešava kada se lokalne novine zatvore,

and communities across the country go unwatched and unseen.

a zajednice širom zemlje niko ne vidi i ne čuje.

Until we recognize that the decline of local news

Dok ne prepoznamo da gašenje lokalnih novina

has serious consequences for our society,

ima ozbiljne posledice po naše društvo,

this situation will not improve.

ova situacija se neće popraviti.

A properly staffed local newsroom isn't profitable,

Lokalna redakcija sa punim osobljem nije profitabilna,

and in this age of Google and Facebook,

a u ovo vreme Gugla i Fejsbuka,

it's not going to be.

neće ni biti.

If newspapers are vital to our democracy,

Ako su novine značajne za našu demokratiju,

then we should fund them like they're vital to our democracy.

onda bi trebalo da ih plaćamo kao da su važne za našu demokratiju.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplauz i ovacije)

We cannot stand by and let our watchdogs be put down.

Ne možemo da stojimo i gledamo kako nam uspavljuju pse čuvare.

We can't let more communities vanish into darkness.

Ne smemo da dopustimo da još zajednica nestane u mraku.

It is time to debate a public funding option

Vreme je da razgovaramo o opciji javnog finansiranja

before the fourth estate disappears,

pre nego što mediji nestanu,

and with it, our grand democratic experiment.

a sa njima i naš veliki eksperiment demokratije.

We need much more than a rebellion.

Potrebno nam je više od pobune.

It is time for a revolution.

Vreme je za revoluciju.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplauz)