One hears pretty dire things these days about the decline of the newspaper industry. Time Magazine recently listed The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America. The list includes some major rags from major cities across the nation. The financial facts are harsh. The Boston Globe is losing $1 million/week. The San Francisco Chronicle lost $70 million in 2008. Obviously, they can't stay afloat forever.
I have to say, though, that it seems perfectly absurd to imagine the demise of ALL NEWSPAPERS. Is this really possible? Will a day dawn that doesn't have a single newspaper in it? It's sad and shocking, if so. I just have a hard time believing it. Part of me doesn't want to, and part of me thinks the public won't put up with getting ALL their news online.
For one thing, I don't think that reading news online is anything like the same experience as reading a paper newspaper.
I consume (er, "read") both kinds of news - online and offline. In the morning, over coffee, after a quick glance at my e-mail inbox, I browse the stories aggragated on my iGoogle Home Page - from all four corners of the globe. At lunch, I like to leaf through the New York Times. And there's really no comparison. The online news is straight to the point, but hardly a pleasurable experience. The paper version of the New York Times, on the other hand, is a delightful, physical browsing experience. I open sections up, I stretch them this way and that, I look at ads for things I can't afford, and I find little bits of news I would NEVER HAVE FOUND ONLINE. That's the key, in my opinion.
By specifying "top news stories" in my iGoogle Home Page, I have put a filter on the news that the physical paper removes. There is always a surprise waiting for me in the physical paper - not so much online.
So, although I have long been an advocate of doing things digitally for the sake of efficiency and speed, this is just one area where I have my fingers crossed for the old, traditional way of getting information. I suppose I want to have my digital cake and eat it, too. Hang in there, publishers.
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