City Paper: PlanPhilly ‘fearlessly and accurately’ covers the waterfront (and beyond)

Thanks, Bruce Schimmel, for the “Loose Canon” column in this week’s City Paper about the need for dedicated journalism in a time of seismic shifts within the industry. And thanks much for the compliment about PlanPhilly’s coverage being part of the solution to an ever-growing problem: funding for hard news and thorough journalism.

Read “Journalists Needed” here: http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/01/01/journalists-needed

“In a world ruled by the market, news must compete with entertainment and journalism is losing,” wrote Schimmel, a former owner of the City Paper. “It’s clear: As dailies have shrunk, journalism has cracked. Investigative reporting, journalism’s highest achievement, is becoming a lost art.”

Part of the answer, he writes, may lie in nonprofits and foundations.

“Journalism gives American democracy its backbone. This is why well-meaning foundations – Knight, Pew and William Penn, among them — have been scrambling to create news alternatives. The good news is that these foundations have actually had some success, most notably a William Penn/Knight Web site called PlanPhilly (planphilly.com). With a handful of reporters, they’ve fearlessly and accurately covered development – from casinos to historic preservation to the South Street Bridge.”

There’s also mention of an exciting possibility between Pew and WHYY based on the United Kingdom’s BBC model.

We appreciate the shout-out. Being called fearless and accurate is certainly a fine way to start a new year. Look out, Zoning Code Commission!

To our readers: Be sure, next time you pick up your free copy of the C-P, available practically everywhere, to peruse those ads – thoroughly! And Happy New Year.

–The PP staff