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Press Corps Dwindling

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By WILLIAM MARCH

wmarch@tampatrib.com

Published: March 15, 2009

In Tallahassee, the cat's away.

As the Florida Legislature begins its 2009 session - a session that will see budget cuts and decisions affecting everything from education to health care - the newspaper corps covering state government has shrunk to its smallest level in recent memory.

No one keeps exact numbers, but insiders say the number of full-time Tallahassee beat reporters has declined by half or more in the past three to four years. Many fear that poses a risk that stories important to the public will be left uncovered.

Tallahassee public relations consultant Ron Sachs, a former high-level official in the administration of Gov. Lawton Chiles, calls it "a real crack in the foundation of our democracy."

The decline is part of a nationwide drop in newspaper reporters because of the industry's economic problems. The American Society of Newspaper Editors, which surveys newsrooms annually, found 52,600 newsroom workers in 2008, a 7 percent drop from a historic high of 56,400 in 2001.

Capital beat reporters are declining at a faster rate, perhaps by as much as 25 percent since 2000.

"We're the canaries in the coal mine," said Tiffany Shackelford, executive director of the Association of Capital Reporters and Editors.

Her group's membership has dropped 25 percent in the past year and a half, and four of its 14 board members have lost their reporting jobs.

In Tallahassee, even lobbyists and legislators express concern.

"The scrutiny of the press is a critical aspect of the functioning of government," said Martha Barnett, a veteran of some three decades of lobbying and high-level government and political involvement in Tallahassee. "My perception is the press corps is getting thinner every day."

State Sen. Dan Gelber, a candidate for U.S. Senate, has voiced concern on his personal blog.

"All elected officials need to be watched," Gelber said. "Some bemoan the loss of the press corps, and some celebrate it for all the wrong reasons - they're perfectly happy with fewer people looking over their shoulders."

1 Reporter Per 165 Lobbyists

Tallahassee's Capitol Police had 87 active press-pass holders for the Legislature's January special session, including photographers, broadcast crews, clerks, bloggers and niche journalists.

Senate spokeswoman Jaryn Emhof estimated about 18 to 20 were full-time newspaper reporters, including some on temporary assignments - or roughly one for every 165 registered lobbyists.

For decades, most newspapers and some broadcasters have had headquarters in the Florida Press Association building near the Capitol. The Press Association itself moved out of the building in 1999 to leave more space for reporters.

Now, with empty desks and offices throughout the building, it's moving back in.

It will reoccupy an office filled for decades by The Tampa Tribune, whose Tallahassee numbers have declined along with others. In the past two years, it has cut back from three full-time reporters to one.

Association President Dean Ridings estimated the capitol press corps is around half its size three years ago.

Mergers An Answer?

Sachs recommended in a recent opinion piece that all newspapers covering Tallahassee combine to form a "super bureau" - "before it's too late to realize what we've lost."

The Orlando Sentinel has merged its Tallahassee bureau with the Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale; both were down to one person each. The Tampa Tribune is considering merger possibilities.

"Competition is a great thing, but I would choose to have more bodies rather than fewer bodies with more competing organizations," said Sentinel government and politics editor Bob Shaw.

But Gelber cautioned, "If you end up with just a few competing bureaus, you're going to lose some of the independent spirit that's important in the free markets and in the free press."

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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