Already Gone

If there is anyone in Osceola County left who actually reads the Orlando Sentinel for more than just it's job listings, they might have come to notice that the coverage on Osceola County has almost ceased to exist. This has become more apparent over the past several months as the Orlando Sentinel has not only limited its coverage of Osceola County issues, but has also adopted the Osceola News-Gazette's business model of re-printing press releases from government agencies without fact-checking them first. While we think this is at least a more honorable model than the tabloid journalism that some "newspapers" like St. Cloud in the News have resorted to, it still may be the reason that their readership has plunged so badly.

Regardless of the reasons for the drop in readership, the WayneWho staff agrees that if the Orlando Sentinel is not going to cover Osceola County issues, then they should go ahead with plans to sell the 804 Emmett Street location. Our hope would be that a new owner would be able to use such a prime location in a way that would help to generate traffic into the downtown area. Another idea would be to make some of the whispers from around the county building come true and turn the Orlando Sentinel property into a parking garage instead of tearing down businesses that actually contribute to our community. If the county can force one of our favorite haunts like Susan's Courtside to move then why not pick a new target like the Orlando Sentinel, who claims to be a community partner, and leave the small businesses of our community alone. The Sentinel has better road frontage and putting a tall parking garage there might even add to the skyline that is now being created in the area.

While we will hate to see the Orlando Sentinel leave our area, we realize that just like the song says, they are probably "Already Gone" and have been for some time. As the economy gets tougher and small news areas like Osceola County lose their sales and advertising potential some things are just going to have to change. The Sentinel may have to follow the same path as publications such as El Nuevo Dia who has pulled out of the Central Florida area. The WayneWho staff misses the days of the Sentinel's honest and more complete coverage of Osceola County news, but we understand that it is time we say good-bye.