The Printer’s Devil

I’ve been reflecting on the ruckus concerning the products made in China being recalled for a wide variety of hazards or shoddy production.

I’ve always been surprised at how few newspapers include stories about product recalls. I always did.

For publications that boast of of their “local, community connections,” the papers could perform a useful community service by printing recalls. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, readers don’t necessarily like it but they expect their papers to be watchdogs. And recalls are a relatively easy way to be a watchdog and print stories that people actually like.

And the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission makes it easy. If you can’t regularly visit the CPSC Web site, you can have them e-mail their recalls. No muss, no fuss.

Why so few papers routinely print recalls mystifies me.

I know CorpsNews executives and publishers are corrupt and shameless kowtow to advertisers but many of those recalls involve products sold by big-box retailers — for most small dailies or large weeklies, one particular big retailer in particular — rather than local stores.

And because that particular big retailer doesn’t advertise in small dailies or large weeklies and generally treats newspapers like a disgusting plague, CorpsNews publishers enjoy zinging the retailer.

The only thing I can think of in these days of CorpsNews’ “all local, all the time,” it doesn’t fit “local” unless some kid is injured or killed by the recalled product.

I’d rather not wait until the recall “becomes local.” A newspaper’s function is to inform, educate and then entertain and I can’t think of a better bit of information than telling parents their kids could be eating lead paint chipping off their toys.

Perhaps someone out there in the electronic ether can explain to me why the rarity of recalls on the printed page.