The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is clear: Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of the press. And yet a force seemingly even more powerful than the supreme law of the land threatens one of our nation’s most precious guarantors of freedom.

For more than two centuries, American newspapers have collected, organized, and disseminated the information that makes democracy possible. Occasional opponents of a free press have not been able to cripple newspapers and despite dire predictions, neither have radio, television, or the Internet. But greed can kill American newspapers, thus eliminating the crucial synergy between journalism and democracy.

The reality that newspapers must remain financially viable has always dictated compromises between the competing missions of profit and public service. But in recent years the essential balancing of those missions has been replaced by a single-minded pursuit of profit. Whether the chosen method is scaling back of content, cutting corners to control costs, or dismantling the traditional wall separating the news and business departments, the result is the same: the watering down of newspaper journalism, which is the core of all American journalism. Without fundamental change in newspapers’ corporate boardrooms, the flow of information that Americans need to govern themselves will dry up.

In Knightfall, Davis “Buzz” Merritt, a 40-year newspaperman whose career runs parallel to the seismic shift in journalism’s landscape, examines one notable exemplar of this growing trend, Knight Ridder, America’s second-largest newspaper company with holdings including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, the Detroit Free Press, and the Mercury News in San Jose.

Merritt was a participant-observer in the 1974 marriage of two newspaper companies, a union that seemed made in heaven. Knight Newspapers’ longstanding tradition of excellence in journalism coupled with Ridder Publications’ business savvy should have created a unique company offering the With more than 40 years of experience with the Knight and Knight Ridder newspaper empire, Merritt is well positioned to analyze how that venerable news organization and American journalism in general are struggling to reconcile the role of the press in a democracy with the pressure to produce profits. He traces the history of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain from the 1974 merger of two media empires and analyzes the forces that have slowly chipped away at its ability to maintain the integrity for which it has long been known. Merritt points to changes in American culture, including the rise of technology and the decline in newspaper reading as well as the enormous profit demands of investors, which have eroded the line between the editorial and business operations of newspapers. Drawing on interviews and his own recollections, Merritt details the personalities and events that caused many editors and publishers--including Merritt--to leave Knight Ridder as business and editorial interests clashed. Vanessa Bush
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From the Inside Flap
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is clear: Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of the press. And yet a force seemingly even more powerful than the supreme law of the land threatens one of our nation’s most precious guarantors of freedom.

For more than two centuries, American newspapers have collected, organized, and disseminated the information that makes democracy possible. Occasional opponents of a free press have not been able to cripple newspapers and despite dire predictions, neither have radio, television, or the Internet. But greed can kill American newspapers, thus eliminating the crucial synergy between journalism and democracy.

The reality that newspapers must remain financially viable has always dictated compromises between the competing missions of profit and public service. But in recent years the essential balancing of those missions has been replaced by a single-minded pursuit of profit. Whether the chosen method is scaling back of content, cutting corners to control costs, or dismantling the traditional wall separating the news and business departments, the result is the same: the watering down of newspaper journalism, which is the core of all American journalism. Without fundamental change in newspapers’ corporate boardrooms, the flow of information that Americans need to govern themselves will dry up.

In Knightfall, Davis "Buzz" Merritt, a 40-year newspaperman whose career runs parallel to the seismic shift in journalism’s landscape, examines one notable exemplar of this growing trend, Knight Ridder, America’s second-largest newspaper company with holdings including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, the Detroit Free Press, and the Mercury News in San Jose.

Merritt was a participant-observer in the 1974 marriage of two newspaper companies, a union that seemed made in heaven. Knight Newspapers’ longstanding tradition of excellence in journalism coupled with Ridder Publications’ business savvy should have created a unique company offering the best of both worlds.

That it did not happen is a reflection of complex changes in American society and the realities of modern business pressures driven by Wall Street. There are no pure heroes or pure villains in this story; the players were doing what their training, background, and respective family histories urged them to do. But the story’s outcome is ominous for American democracy. Merritt’s personal accounts of the 30 years since the merger illustrate the degree to which what we know is being limited. Further, his portraits of key figures, analysis of societal changes, and dozens of interviews with others who were (and are) there reveal that not only is he on target, he is also not alone in his unsettling conclusions.

A free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. The erosion of that foundation is a catastrophe in the making: the real possibility that the kind of journalism that gave rise to—and preserves—our democracy will disappear.

Davis "Buzz" Merritt spent more than four decades with Knight Newspapers and Knight Ridder, retiring in 1999 as Senior Editor of The Wichita Eagle. He lives in Wichita, Kansas. "A daily newspaper can be regarded as a business not intrinsically different from making coat hangers or carpets. But to do so is to disregard the central role of newspapers and quality journalism in the democratic life of our communities and nation. Buzz Merritt presents a detailed social analysis of the trends that have undercut journalism’s critical role in public life. To understand where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go, invest some time in Knightfall." —Maxwell McCombs, Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair, School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin

"Knightfall lifts the thin veil of corporate respectability from the long, steady suffocation of America’s newspapers. Merritt’s compelling case study is Knight Ridder—yet the same sad story is playing out in print and broadcast newsrooms across the land. The slow but sure victory of outlandish profits over civic health endangers us all. To respond, we must understand. Start here." Geneva Overholser, Professor, Missouri School of Journalism, former editor, Des Moines Register

"Merritt presents a sweeping account of the changes in journalism that are having an impact on the role newspapers play in our democracy. No one is in a better position to explain why than Merritt, whose views are informed by more than 40 years as a journalist. He is both an insightful professional and a dedicated citizen." —David Mathews, President, Kettering Foundation

"The story of the newspaper business in the 20th century is like a Sophocles play where the protagonists can see that their actions will lead to doom, but they are powerless to stop. Buzz Merritt built his career in the middle of this real-life tragedy, and his well-written case study helps us to understand the entire industry. There are no villains, only players caught in the inexorable tides of change." —Philip Meyer, author, The Vanishing Newspaper

"Knightfall is a troubling and revealing account of what happens to journalism when it is yoked to the insatiable demands of Wall Street. It will resonate and reverberate in newsrooms, and should be required reading for anyone concerned about journalism and the future of democracy. Buzz Merritt’s status as an insider gives this hard-hitting book unusual credibility." —Gilbert Cranberg, former editor of the Des Moines Register’s editorial pages; George H. Gallup Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa