The Palm Beach Post, WPTV-Channel 5 announce news partnership

Click title for link to PBP story on this partnership.  I heard the same announcement on Channel 5 this morning.

This actually indicates a settling of a long-time feud.  The Post's editorial board made a big stink in opposition to Channel 5 selling their former waterfront site to a developer of a high-rise condo.  Before that, they were partners much like what is being talked about here.  The Post then aligned itself with Channel 12 - that never really paid in off in any benefit for either party - or the public for that matter.  Channel 5 overlooked the Post and favored a relationship with the Sun-Sentinel.  I guess the grim realities of the future of print media and local broadcast TV finally made them bury their swords.

But will it amount to better journalism?  I'm not optimistic - if anything, the Post may follow Channel 5's lead and not cover local political issues, other than elections.  There is a gaping hole in the coverage of local issues since they don't drive the ratings.  That's why blogs like this are appearing to fill the void.  We already know that the Post just spits out what it is given in a press release, with little original investigative reporting.  Maybe more of a merger is on tap in the future that will eliminate what we know as the print edition of the Palm Beach Post entirely.

In the mean time, we can hope beyond hope that the editorial board ceases to be the public relations arm of the current Lake Worth government regime - and that Channel 5 doesn't churn out fluff pieces weekly for the darlings of the dais.  Not likely, but one can hope reality seeps into the picture at some point in time.