20 Year Old Complaints About Dying Newspapers Sound Familiar
from the the-more-things-stay-the-same dept
We certainly take our fair shot at pointing out when newspapers make bad business decisions in trying to figure out how to adapt to the internet age -- but (unlike some) we don't believe that "journalism" is dying or even that newspapers are dying. They'll learn to adapt and change with the time. Sure, a few poorly managed and slow to change newspapers may end up having plenty of trouble, but that hardly speaks to the value and demand for professionally produced news. However, for an interesting historical perspective on the imminent death of newspapers it's worth reading MarketWatch editor-in-chief David Callaway's column discussing his 20 years in the news business, where the basic fears sound remarkably similar to what you hear today:"Back in 1987, it was widely assumed that newspapers were dying. The post-Watergate rush to journalism was over. Circulations were down. And new technologies were threatening. At one point, the hot new thing was to deliver news by fax machine, and papers were going to die because readers would be able to get news quicker by fax. They would even be able to tailor the type of news they wanted to receive. Imagine that."Journalism isn't going anywhere. It just needs to change and adapt to the times. It's already happening in some places, and the others will figure it out eventually.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: journalism, newspapers
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
What is journalism
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Adapt or die - but quit bitchin'.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Think about how long newspapers have been around, hundreds of years of one medium - it seems like it is time for a change. Just because it is the oldest and most common doesn't make it the gold standard or best.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Newspapers won't die they will adapt...sort of
Granted eventually this will include streaming video etc but it will be interesting for people to pick up a local paper with contstand updates. This probably had very little to do with the post. Sorry for the tangent.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Newspapers Won't Die ...
There is a proliferation of local and suburban journals/newspapers, far more than ever before ... free local papers with a lot of advertising.
Newspapers won't die, maybe the price will go down and the formats change but they will be here forever.
People will
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
define die
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The Sky is Falling
http://paleo-future.blogspot.com/2007/08/electronic-newspaper-1978.html
Like I mention in the blog post, the newspaper industry seems to have had fair warning that new technologies will eventually change the business model.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
damn
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Typical example, here in London we have lots and lots of free daily newspapers. They include papers such as the Metro, London Paper, London Lite, a title called Sport, my personal favourite City AM (business news) and of course many more titles. So whilst those that refuse to adapt mis-understand a change in business model rather than the death of newspapers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
What about the ads?
In fact, I work at a newspaper, and the #1 complaint that comes in from subscribers is always "I didn't get (fill in favorite retailer) ad in my paper." Some people are willing to wait for massive .pdf documents to load to look at their favorite retailer's ads to load online, but even on high-speed internet I have at home, it's too long to wait for a 12-page .pdf.
I'd rather have a piece of paper that I can hold in my hand, look at it in the comfort of my living room, and cut out if I want to keep it for reference.
I think that newspapers dying, if it happens, will end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people would shut up about it, it wouldn't happen! People keep hearing that papers are dying and so they change their buying habits (both as advertisers and subscribers) thinking they're ahead of the curve. The prophecies of doom ARE the problem!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
There is no diversity of thought at the major news outlets, local papers are filled with 70% AP articles, and the talking heads on my TV have no connection to middle America.
People will ALWAYS want local news. There will ALWAYS be journalism. This is the golden age of journalism!
[ link to this | view in thread ]