Licata: Seattle, save our P-I
SEATTLE -- Working as a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for the past nine years used to be the best job Kery Murakami ever had.
"I've wanted to be a reporter since the third grade when I saw 'All the President's Men,'" Murakami said. "It's all I've ever wanted to do."
But the job Murakami so cherished has taken an unexpected plunge.
The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle P-I, officially notified the newspaper's employees late last week that if no one buys the paper, it expects all P-I jobs -- both union and nonunion -- to be eliminated.
Those jobs will end March 18 at the earliest, though they could last through April 1.
Murakami is a member of the committee that just hashed out a severance package that could be issued to hundreds of his co-workers.
"Basically, it sucks," he said. "We don't know what the future holds."
Hearst has said it might continue with a seattlepi.com Web site, produced by far fewer than the paper's current 170 workers, but that's little consolation to the paper's employees who fear the worst.
But the case is not hopeless, as Seattle City Council member Nick Licata points out. Licata's plan: convince the city to intervene by putting up its own money to keep in print the oldest newspaper in town.
The idea doesn't seem so far-fetched to Licata. Citing the BBC in the United Kingdom as an example, he wonders if other countries can do it successfully, why can't we?
"When we eliminate newspapers, we're essentially dumbing down democracy," he said.
"Democracy is based on knowledge. If you limit the access to knowledge, you're going to get bad decisions. Or you're going to have decisions based on spur-of-the moment emotions, based on fears, based on sort of panic situations."
P-I reporter Larry Lange isn't sold on Licata's idea of a government-funded newspaper, even if it means he'll get to keep his job.
"I'm not sure. Wanted them separate," he said.
But Deb Harrell, who has been reporting at the P-I for 20 years, is open to any ideas if it means the paper will stay.
"I work with a lot of really dedicated, talented people. And its really hard," she said.
Murakami, too, is hoping for a savior. He says if the P-I closes, he may never write for another newspaper again.
"I hope so. I have no idea. I've been looking for jobs and there's not much out there," he said.
The paper's severance package includes two weeks' pay for every year of employment and up to three months of health benefits.
Licata plans to introduce his idea at a Town Hall panel on Wednesday.
"I've wanted to be a reporter since the third grade when I saw 'All the President's Men,'" Murakami said. "It's all I've ever wanted to do."
But the job Murakami so cherished has taken an unexpected plunge.
The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle P-I, officially notified the newspaper's employees late last week that if no one buys the paper, it expects all P-I jobs -- both union and nonunion -- to be eliminated.
Those jobs will end March 18 at the earliest, though they could last through April 1.
Murakami is a member of the committee that just hashed out a severance package that could be issued to hundreds of his co-workers.
"Basically, it sucks," he said. "We don't know what the future holds."
Hearst has said it might continue with a seattlepi.com Web site, produced by far fewer than the paper's current 170 workers, but that's little consolation to the paper's employees who fear the worst.
But the case is not hopeless, as Seattle City Council member Nick Licata points out. Licata's plan: convince the city to intervene by putting up its own money to keep in print the oldest newspaper in town.
The idea doesn't seem so far-fetched to Licata. Citing the BBC in the United Kingdom as an example, he wonders if other countries can do it successfully, why can't we?
"When we eliminate newspapers, we're essentially dumbing down democracy," he said.
"Democracy is based on knowledge. If you limit the access to knowledge, you're going to get bad decisions. Or you're going to have decisions based on spur-of-the moment emotions, based on fears, based on sort of panic situations."
P-I reporter Larry Lange isn't sold on Licata's idea of a government-funded newspaper, even if it means he'll get to keep his job.
"I'm not sure. Wanted them separate," he said.
But Deb Harrell, who has been reporting at the P-I for 20 years, is open to any ideas if it means the paper will stay.
"I work with a lot of really dedicated, talented people. And its really hard," she said.
Murakami, too, is hoping for a savior. He says if the P-I closes, he may never write for another newspaper again.
"I hope so. I have no idea. I've been looking for jobs and there's not much out there," he said.
The paper's severance package includes two weeks' pay for every year of employment and up to three months of health benefits.
Licata plans to introduce his idea at a Town Hall panel on Wednesday.