Journalists face news industry turbulence

GUEST EDITORIAL

Eric Freedman is a journalism professor at Michigan State University and director of Capital News Service.
Eric Freedman is a journalism professor at Michigan State University and director of Capital News Service.

LANSING

These are tough times for American journalists. Traditional newspaper, magazine and broadcast station staffs are shrinking. News outlets are cutting back on coverage, merging companies or – most drastically – folding. Nonprofit start-ups are emerging and doing high-quality journalism but often struggle financially.

At the same time and amid a proliferation of alternative sources of “news” an…