Journalism in Washington

James Rainey of the LA Times wrote an column that relates to our discussion today about covering news in Washington. He suggests that the target consumer for news outlets in Washington is changing--instead of news directed towards the average reader, information is tailored to meet the interests of lobbyists and Washington insiders. Aligning with what we learned in the "Endangered Species" article, Rainey discusses how general interest news sources are losing their presence in Washington. Yet in their place, Rainey argues, are a growing number of niche newspapers; there are currently 437 in Washington, increasing from 310 in the mid-1980s. He even cites information from the Pew Center report we read earlier.