It’s quite apparent that newspapers are in the decline. We now strive for convenience and only make time for things that are at our fingertips. With blackberries, iPhones, laptops, free Wi-Fi, and constant emails it’s obvious these new technologies bring the news to us, rather than us going out of our way to seek the news. Print newspapers have become solely part of the past. It’s sad that companies are going bankrupted such as: the Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune (NY Times). Other newspapers have decreased their circulation in order to stay afloat.
Three Michigan newspapers have reduced their publications to three days a week. The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News, and The Bay City Times will now only print editions of Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays (CNN.com). This is a perfect example of how print newspapers cannot sufficiently survive anymore in our contemporary face-paced world. It is somewhat disheartening however, the traditionalism and concept of reading the news in your hands brings forth a sort of power to your self—at least for me. I enjoy the idea of absorbing the knowledge and hard facts that are right in front of you. This is what a newspaper does.
It seems the decline in newspapers has falling in fault of us. I am definitely to blame for not making time out of my day to consume the news. The only news I do get is from my iPhone with my USA Today application. It’s pathetic that our society needs convenience to survive and stay afloat on current topics and affairs. It definitely saddens me that the circulation of newspapers are declining, but at least we are still surrounding ourselves with some sort of news; it’s just in a new form e.g. online, podcasts, PDAs, and blogs. This transformation was sure inevitable.
Works Cited:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/19/newspaper.decline.layoff/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/business/media/28circ.html
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ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you made the connection between your iPhone and the problem of declining newspaper publications. The iPhone has so many applications that it takes away from people needing to read newspapers. Not only can they access the Internet from their phone but, the iPhone makes it even easier to access with applications. This proves that the Internet has become a much bigger part of our daily lives in ways we don’t even think.
ReplyDeleteStovall states, “The web has altered the way we trade stocks, the way we do our banking, the way people shop, the way many people get their music, and even the way some people listen to baseball games.” (Stovall 168) I think this is true and it happens due to new technology. We are always looking for new advancements on our computers and cell phones, and for the fastest way to reach them. This alters the way we receive certain things, such as news.
It’s not just iPhones that change the way we receive our news, blogs, podcasts, and many other cell phones are advanced enough to give news faster than a newspaper. So we take advantage of that and as a result, it puts newspaper publications out of business. “Nationwide, about 100 U.S. newspapers have either reduced the number of days they publish or have gone to the web entirely, but most are smaller and dropped just one day.” (Washingtonpost.com) This statement is interesting because it shows that newspapers are taking such a downturn they have resorted to going online and feeding into technology advancements.
I agree the transformation of news was inevitable. I think technology is to blame for this. It’s everywhere and constantly changing to give us news and other media outlets faster and easier. All newspapers will need to go online or they will die out because our culture is used to new technology. Newspapers need to keep up to survive in this fast-paced, media crazed environment we’ve created.
Works Cited
1. Stovall, James Glen. Writing for The Mass Media 7th ed. 2009, 2006, 2002 Pearson Education Inc.
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/02/AR2009110202121.html
You bring up a valid point about the demise of the newspaper industry and how sad it is that our society is falling away from print news. “It’s pathetic that our society needs convenience to survive and stay afloat on current topics,” this is an interesting crossroad our society has come to. Are already are seeing a large drop off of materials being printed and distributed. Along with the demise of the newspaper our society has chosen other forms of media over more traditional means; movies over books, blogs over magazines, video games over board games and PowerPoint presentations over white boards. The evolution of media has changed our way of absorbing and exchanging information.
ReplyDeleteThe Bill Moyers article, Journalism & Democracy, reflects on the evolution of news media. He quotes journalist Martha Gellhorn, “There is no end; there are only means. Journalism is a means, and I now think that the act of keeping the record straight is valuable in itself. Serious, careful, honest journalism is essential, not because it is a guiding light but because it is a form of honorable behavior, involving the reporter and the reader." This resides true today with news media. Our society needs to remain aware of local, national and world events by honest, reliable journalism. This is an achievable goal if we can transition the format of news media from hard copy form to the internet. Journalist and publishers will have to maintain old rhetoric and credibility in the transition in order for readers to believe reporting.
Newspapers, in the hard copy form, will continue to exist in some form. Local news is still important to communities. Though television news is a wonderful form of news media, it is not practical for the “on-demand” society we live it. Having a hard copy of local news still makes sense on a community level to meet the time constraint our society struggles with. It is easy to forget about the smaller picture within the big picture of our world. News about local events, sports, obituaries and businesses will keep the newspaper alive.
News media is changing, for the better or worst. It will be imperative that society seeks out news on their own convenient time. Not having a paper reminder will test our society’s drive to stay informed about national and international events. However, I do believe a smaller version of a newspaper will stay in circulation for many years to come.