News Corp. Chief Murdoch Not A Fan Of Newsprint
from the another-gloomy-prediction dept
You know times are tough when your own kind turn on you, as Michael S. Malone recently did when he joined the chorus of those predicting the extinction of newsprint. Times just got tougher: none other than media mogul Rupert Murdoch is now saying the same thing. It's no secret that readers (and revenues) are shifting more and more to online media, while the newspapers remain fairly clueless about their new competition. But it's not all about a failure to adapt to new technology -- rather greater trust in the news source might be winning people over just as much as the medium itself. The Economist story quoting Murdoch also cites a researcher who found that top bloggers are typically more educated than top newspaper columnists. Mainstream journalists face credibility issues as well, as Paul Graham discusses in his column about the influence of PR firms in dictating news stories. Though the practice is common in old media, online writers are less likely to regurgitate PR-backed buzz as news, and hence are seen as more trustworthy. All of which underscores the point that blogs -- and other web-based forms -- are more of a communication medium than anything else. What you do with the content in that medium is a different story altogether.
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I've cut way back on newspapers
During the week I got my daily Dilbert fix, saw the headlines on the front page and would occassionaly turn up something useful during some down time.
Then I started getting my daily Dilbert e-mailed to me each morning for free. I also got to add 3 of my other favorite comics to My Yahoo home page. Local and National news headlines - same My Yahoo page.
I came to the realization that I didn't need the paper 7 days a week any more and cut back to a Sunday-only subscription.
I still feel just as in-touch with whats going on around me and still get to see my favorite comics, plus I'm saving money and helping the Earth by not using up as much paper - 80% of which I never found time to read.
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