World's Oldest (Sort Of) Newspaper Goes Internet-Only

from the take-that,-paper dept

While it's officially the world's oldest newspaper, Sweden's Post och Inrikes Tidningar apparently hasn't published much actual "news" reporting for the last century or so. Founded in 1645, the paper is "the official news organ of the government," but these days is mostly used for "announcements from publicly listed companies." That basically makes it sound like a glorified press release service. Either way, it's decided to give up paper and will now go internet-only -- a move that plenty of other papers will probably follow over time, though few will take the same 362 years that PoIT did.
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  1. identicon
    Nick Burns, 30 Jan 2007 @ 3:55am

    it's is NOT a conjunction for it has

    FIRST

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Grammar Nazi, 30 Jan 2007 @ 4:56am

    It's a contraction not a conjunction.

    These are some conjunctions:

    and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so, although, because, since, unless

    First correct post.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Josh, 30 Jan 2007 @ 5:22am

    No, Nick did have the first correct post, just that he called it a conjunction when he should have called it a contraction. His point is still valid and correct.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Araemo, 30 Jan 2007 @ 5:22am

    Conjunction Junction, what IS your function?

    NT

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2007 @ 5:33am

    What are you talking about?

    "It's" IS a contraction for either "it is" or "it has".

    "Its" (without apostrophe) means the possessive of “it”.

    I agree with #2.

    Source:

    http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/it's

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Another Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2007 @ 5:49am

    Geeks and grammar - ne'er the twain...

    That first post is great - How To Be Completely Wrong And Arrogant While Doing It!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2007 @ 6:01am

    Re: Geeks and grammar - ne'er the twain...

    Maybe he's right in his "wrong-dom" :-)

    He stated:

    "It's is NOT a conjunction for it has"

    which he is Correct in that it is not a conjunction, it's a contraction for "It Has".

    Isn't this like when the teacher would yell at you in school with "Ain't AIN'T a word!" ?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    NewspeakIsUngood, 30 Jan 2007 @ 6:15am

    An amazing thread derail

    I'm impressed. The first poster managed to derail the conversation for 8 posts.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2007 @ 7:12am

    With all the contrasting arguments, I'm not sure if Techdirt got it right or not. Either way, it has given us yet another article about how newspapers are outdated and should all switch to an online format.

    Doesn't anyone get tired of staring at a computer screen all day? I know I do.

    I enjoy those weekend mornings just sitting around reading the paper and eating breakfast sitting on the porch and relaxing. It's just doesn't compare.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    JS Beckerist, 30 Jan 2007 @ 7:23am

    News

    News: -noun. a report of a recent event; intelligence; information: His family has had no news of his whereabouts for months.
    As news is supposed to be recent, getting your news a day late is only barely acceptable, and that's only because it's been the standard for hundreds of years. The internet provides an instant method for communicating "news," and therefore is a more efficient and expedient way to distribute it. As more and more people either get access to the internet (or die?), the percentage of internet users to non-internet users is increasing on a daily basis. This is only a natural evolution of a very old industry...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Odd isn't it, 30 Jan 2007 @ 8:16am

    Funny how things work

    I think it is amazing that none of us really care about Sweden and its government sanctioned "newspaper." I am over joyed that we spend more time debating grammar.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    David B, 30 Jan 2007 @ 9:27am

    Not

    There isn't much use for a newspaper that carries world and national news a day or two late. TV didn't kill the newspaper because it still only gave sound bites and newspapers had much deeper coverage. Now the Internet has the depth of coverage and also the timeliness that newspapers will never have unless they become Internet newspapers. Most of newspapers revenue comes from advertisements so subscriptions should only be charged for hardcopies if needed.

    Newspapers do have local news and sports that TV or the Internet doesn't. This is their "bread and butter" and they better learn it. News feeds of world and national news isn't even worth the cost of the paper it's written on. I for one don't even look at those in the local newspaper because I have already read it on the Internet. On the other hand, local papers are the only place to get local k-12 stories, local sport news, and information about your home town (the space you actually spend most of your time). Also local governments are usually only covered in the local paper unless something major goes wrong.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Amerin, 30 Jan 2007 @ 9:30am

    Conjunction conjunction whats your function...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2007 @ 9:32am

    Re: Geeks and grammar - ne'er the twain...

    First poster also fails to use punctuation. If you're going to be a grammar nazi, you should probably proofread your own stuff before you post. You know, glass houses and throwing stones and all.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Rabid Wolverine, 30 Jan 2007 @ 9:34am

    Who cares?

    With the demise of the English language at hand from things like ebonics, spanglish, techno-speak and who knows what, do you really think that this silly issue is so important that you need to waste even a fraction of your small brains on it?

    You people need to get a life...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Gustaf Erikson, 30 Jan 2007 @ 10:07am

    Post och Inrikes Tidningar

    PoIT is used for stuff like patent announcements, bankruptcies and so on:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-och_Inrikes_Tidningar

    As such it's hardly a newspaper anymore, more a gazette like the Federal Register.

    The interesting part is that the Swedish Academy got a lot of their income from its sale. I know they were against it going online, but I think they'll manage somehow.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. icon
    ConceptJunkie (profile), 30 Jan 2007 @ 10:08am

    Re:

    Can you cite anything?

    If nothing else, "it's" for "it has" is extremely common in usage... and the whole point of contractions is to represent how people speak, rather than something grammatical.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    Bob, 30 Jan 2007 @ 10:50am

    I love that there was a 10-post debate on Grammar. Newspapers are obsolete...cultural evolution...my native tongue isn't English but I even do my thinking in it because of the usage. It's just the way it is. All that jazz. Excellent Grammar posts guys. 'Twas fun and Rabid Wolverine needs a rabies shot.Lol :)

    link to this | view in thread ]


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