We've all heard it before: "Newspapers are dying."
I've often said that we're killing them, but that's probably just quibbling over terms.
After all, we can each point fingers at a cause: Nobody reads anymore, no one wants to deal with the mess, the internet is faster and free, Craigslist is siphoning off the most lucrative (if not least sexy) stream of revenue, corporations have sucked the marrow dry.
Well ... one of ours, The Independent, is closing. Whether it has died or been killed, I suppose, doesn't really matter. The 36-year-old community newspaper, which had been owned by Journal Register Co. for the last eight of them, will stop publishing forever as of Friday.
Something will probably take its place eventually. ... A free rag, put together by people in part-time jobs without benefits, will eventually find its way into mailboxes throughout the counties this bi-weekly once serviced. The new newspaper, if you can really call it that, will offer glowing reports on new businesses and tasty recipes from syndicated (but free) content providers. There will probably be more ads and more announcements of school lunch menus and honor rolls than humanly thought possible.
I think a moment of silence is in order.
3 comments:
I still enjoy reading through a newspaper, and as a internet addict, I can say without guilt that I have never seen/been to this Craigs List.
I like to read, and what I like to do more is have the ability to research a story indebt should I take an interest in it. I use to go to a library to do follow-up research but more often than not this research was not always there, and the time it took could be weeks. The Internet provides better research abilities with the click of a mouse should one want to learn about any one story, and other opinions.
I think people like the option of researching a said story as apposed to believing the opinion of a popular newspaper journalist, especially now days where many sources of mainstream news organizations are controlled by mega corporations loyal not to the reader but corporate sponsors…The truth can become distorted.
They have also been slow to adapt to the Internet and the exchange of ideas especially when public opinion is not in agreement with a slanted story for the benefit of a corporate sponsor. If Billy Joe Bob’s car dealer ship is ripping off the public but advertises heavily in said newspaper one will never read about it.
I once joined a newspaper site to voice my opinion in their forum and they spammed me to death, I closed the E-mail account because of this…what gives them the right? We are tired of being a statistic on their marketing reports.
I know this is your livelihood and I was someone who read the paper daily, now I pick one up only for something to read when I go out for breakfast so I don’t look like a serial killer sitting there staring at the wall.
I also think it was a wise move for your paper to include your blog as a part of the paper, it is more personal this way with your selection of photos, stories and ones ability to reply to you personally. They need to do the same with their editorials but not force one to join to reply, and then spamm them to death.
I don’t think people like to read any less, the Internet is all about reading.
Later,Kcoz
This trend has been breaking my heart. Our local paper just let go of much of it's long time staff.......voices that I have read since I was a little girl. It is a sad thing.
I can tell you that I might be one of the few who have never ever logged onto Craigslist. yet.
I pause in silence.
Post a Comment