A recent national media conference speaker also called for newspapers and TV stations to make their Web sites one-stop information sources about their towns.

There is a lag of understanding this power in the case of advertisers. But when the media outlets themselves do little to demonstrate the point, then it is a two-fold loss for the community.

Eagle, the Foothills, and East Boise get the glory, but for every 10 houses sold in those areas, more than 90 are sold west of 5-Mile, South of the river. The western part of the valley is adding shopping centers while Boise struggles, for a second decade, to find an answer to The Pit. Boise pays people to promote it in magazines and other locals (with dubious effect) while manufacturing operations quietly move in and start up in the Nampa-Caldwell area.

Don’t get me wrong, Boise is not dead. However, as the western migration of the Statesman’s printing press attests, the economic force of the western valley is real, it is growing, and in some respects has already surpassed Boise.

Puff pieces, regurgitated Press Releases, feeds from the Wire Services and an obsession with the sexual orientation of a thertain U.S. Thenator [sic] seem to pass for journalism on Curtis Road.

More often than not, for in depth-reporting of important State issues, I find the New York Times far more informative than our “Local” rag.

And despite the bombast of their promotional spots, our local broadcast news services really aren’t any better, and the demographic shift to their medium is more indicative of the laziness of the average American (at least when it comes to staying informed about important issues) than a damnation of print.

“All that evil (or at least the corrupt and inept) needs to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing.”

“We have more readers today than ever before – for our newspaper, our website and our niche products.”

Untrue.

FACT: one year ago THRIVE magazine was still in existence. Today it is not

FACT: The paper’s website grew just 1/10th of one percent from July 2006 to July 2007 (according to The Media Audit – themediaaudit.com). Inside information indicates almost no growth this year as well.

FACT: The Audit Bureau of Circulation shows that the paper killed trees for 65,124 daily copies. By September of 2007 – fewer trees died for 61,473 copies. Today, that number is very likely even lower – despite the carnival barkers positioned at Fred Meyer and the mall

So let’s compute: Killed its largest niche publication. Website not growing. Six percent drop in circulation.

Fewer people are reading the Idaho Statesman’s products today than a year ago… or even two.

Also – it’s a disservice to the SIXTEEN people laid off Monday to bury that fact in the eighth paragraph of a story that didn’t even run in the A section of the paper.

Editor Note– Jo, are you saying there is no meat to the Daily Paper. Where’s the beef?