News cycles have been dominated in recent weeks by the massive layoffs and shut-downs of major newspapers across the country. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has canceled its print run. The Chicago Sun-Times and even the New York Times, arguably the most influential and widely-followed newspaper in America, have cut hundreds of jobs.
This has affected me personally as, the local newspaper the Ann Arbor News has forgone daily publication after over a century. It will continue as a web-based news service with two or three publications per week. Don't worry, The Michigan Daily, which is the university newspaper, is still solid for now. I still have a job.
Newspapers are rapidly dying. Just check out the results of the recent poll, of your main source for news:
Newspaper - 13%
CNN - 13%
MSNBC - 0%
Fox News - 0%
(I guess our blog doesn't have radical readers)
Radio - 6% (I am so proud of the one person who voted for this)
Online News Sites - 40%
This Blog - 20% (awww thanks guys)
Other - 0%
And thankfully, nobody would rather snooze than read the news.
People are getting the same news instantly from their IPhones and other gadgets without the hassle of purchasing and browsing through newspapers. Plus, the ink gets on your hands. Even though you may still read the New York Times and others online, this sucks for the publishers. Most of their profits come from selling newspaper advertisements. Since nobody is reading newspapers, advertisers are shifting to web-based marketing.
I'm going to miss newspapers. I have a long history with them. I used to deliver the Daily Mining Gazette back in middle school. That was my first job. Now, it has come full circle, as I currently write for a newspaper. I just love the format of newspapers, especially their look and touch. One of my favorite auditory pleasures is hearing the loud crinkle as I fold back their pages.
RIP The Newspaper. You will be missed. By me, at least.
Here's a hilarious-but-depressing video of Stephen Colbert's coverage of the same topic.
3 comments:
Good post. It's interesting how you have to be a certain age (I am) to miss newspapers. I suspect today's youngsters will have their own thing to miss when they hit, oh, say, 30, but it won't be newspapers. As a former reporter and current blogger, I'm interested in the connections between the two types of journalism. I recently wrote about this on my own blog at http://jennamcwilliams.blogspot.com/2009/04/montana-is-on-board.html. I'd love for you to check it out!
I don't use newspapers often, but this makes me sad.
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