The Ethical Optimist

As a teenager, I started reading the newspaper every morning, and I always enjoyed Dear Abby. My mother and I would often debate the letters that came in, along with Abby’s response. I remember her as having a “no nonsense” approach to dispensing advice, and she always had terrific, well-researched resources to offer readers.

My daughter is now reading the newspaper in the morning, and she started reading Dear Abby. I hadn’t read it in years. Have you read it lately? I’m starting to think the newsroom cutbacks have affected my favorite column. Dear Abby is now written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, having been founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.

I often wonder though, if an intern isn’t writing the columns these days. The answers are sloppy at best, with little in the way of research or credentialed experts behind them (as they used to be). The advice is lame to say the least. Take today’s column for instance…a woman complained that her husband’s dog continually bit her when they were intimate. When they locked the dog out of the room, it barked frantically. The woman asked her husband to get rid of the dog and Abby suggests a dog trainer.

Hulllloooo! A dog trainer? How about marriage counseling or a husband trainer? Any guy that says “If the dog goes, I go,” needs more than a better-behaved pooch. At the very least, give a link to a dog training website…

I think today’s column got under my skin for several reasons. As someone who’s worked in the media for over 25 years, I’ve seen a significant decline in the quality of reporting over the past ten years…with a very steep decline taking place over the past five years. Reporters (and apparently Abby) have little time to do proper research. Information has been replaced by lackluster infotainment, and few stories have any real meat on the bone.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Abby is a “reporter,” but in years past, even columnists did a fair amount of research and gave credible advice.

Some days I find it’s tough to be an optimist in this business. I wonder if Abby has any advice on that…