Nobody Cares About Newspapers
When I asked my Twitter contacts recently how they felt about the inexorable decline of the newspaper industry, hardly any of ‘em seemed to care about the “Death of Newspapers.”
You can argue that the people who frequent the Twitterstream are bleeding edge, biased-toward-digital types of people. But you’d be missing the point of this post:
For as much as people seem to wave-off the death of the newspaper, the majority of respondents to my anecdotal survey were very anxious about the fate of Journalism.
Everyone sees a need for unbiased, investigative journalism. They just don’t care about the format. And regardless of the format, they don’t seem to want to pay for it.
Brighter minds than mine are wrestling with this challenge.
My concluding thought for the day, as I proceed to my sunny deck to eat lunch with the NY TIMES folded under my arm, is that I certainly hope they figure it out.
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I guess I’m in the minority here. I do still like my weekly local journal newspaper, and I like it in print (not online) for weekend reading away from my PC. AND, I don’t mind paying for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I get the majority of my national and industry news online but there’s something about the local news print that I can’t seem to give up.
Yep, I guess I’m a typical part of the problem. No interest in purchasing a newspaper every morning, but happy to subscribe to the RSS feed.
I hope they figure it out as well!
I love twitter & other forms of digital media – speed & openess is the draw for me BUT I also still love stepping away, sitting down & reading my paper – less headlines as I get that from other sources, but definately the local, arts and columns. I also still read books. Maybe pavlov dog syndrome, but turning paper pages is actually relaxing for me. It`s not just info gathering, it`s a moment in the day.
Todd – I just re-tweeted Brogan’s update but I think you’re onto something here. Don’t get me wrong, I actually do like the tactile feel and format of the Sunday Globe (especially the sports page) but not enough to specifically care about the future of newspapers.
What I do care about is that outlets like the Christian Science Monitor, WSJ, NY Times and other newspapers/magazines continue to provide informative & unbiased news. And I may be unique but I’m willing to pay for it – with my eyeballs, or with my wallet.
Best,
Aaron | @aaronstrout
Wow. We just finished recording the latest Media Hacks and talked about this EXACT topic. Kind of glad I read your post after the fact and you are dead on with what you are saying. (as usual)
Right on Todd. We still want great journalism, but full page ads aren’t going pay the bills anymore. It’s interesting seeing how AP is responding to the openness of the Web but trying to shut people off. What AP doesn’t realize is that people will find news other ways even without AP.
However, look at what True/Slant is doing. The new, new journalism, perhaps? http://cli.gs/E3S6ve
Nice post. I guess the point is being missed here in my view. It is not about newspapers per se. Everyone would buy newspapers, I would love to have newspapers dropped on my driveway every morning before I turn on my laptop. The problem as @chrisbrogan point outs is the future of journalism.
Journalism has sold out to the liberal nonsense, the Democratic hollywood scripted bs and they are the problem. Hate to use this example, but in the movie He Said/She Said it made fun of two opposing sides that actually meet in the middle to fall in love. But really what the story was portraying was two opposing sides can join together in a union or team to create a solution strategy to move forward for the best solution of all concern.
If newspapers would figure this out – instead of beng the LA Times and keeping such important information on a campaign candidate – and slant the news – they would be just as welcomed albeit have to share in the profits, and maybe have guest bloggers – but everyone could live happily ever after – and the journalist may not feel like such liars – and could actually write what they feel. Look at @kbohls – Kirk Bohls who writes for the Austin Statesman – he is a damn good writer who writes from his passion of sports, no political or editorial bs gets in his way.
Just my humble opinion.
Nice post – keep up the good work.
JanSimpson
What the current large papers fail to grasp in their strategy meetings is that their consumers of news want a change in their news delivery experience. The papers have a vested interest in delivering newsprint. Huge printing presses capable of churning out hundreds of thousands of copies each day. Problem is, we don’t want a pile of newsprint anymore. Will they get it before their demise, or will some new news delivery mechanism be created by someone not even on our radar screen? Whoever succeeds will do so because they redesign the entire news experience in a way that captures and delights their users. Don’t bet on the NY Times.
More on Designing the News Experience at http://orange-envelopes.com/blog/2009/04/08/designing-the-news-experience/
Interesting feedback, Todd. Was there any slant to the responses that you’d attribute to the responses all coming from tech-savvy Tweeple?
A Boston radio station did a similar poll yesterday asking listeners if they thought that cities needed a local print paper and somewhat surprising, many called in to support print news. Among the reasons they mentioned for being wary of online-only journalism was the concern that quality of reporting would suffer if everything were to online (the assumption was that online newspapers would staff fewer writers).
Though not as current as online news, I think the majority of people would miss print papers. Among other reasons, many people just like the feel of holding what they’re reading in their hands. That’s not to say that the print papers shouldn’t evolve — whether it’s cutting down on distribution or only printing a few days a week, they better do so quickly if they want to survive the next 5 years.
You raise good points here, Todd, but I think too much of the ongoing “death of newspapers” discussion focuses on the wrong issue.
We’re bemoaning the loss of a format and delivery mechanism. The real loss is in the editorial perspective. Every time I use Digg for my news, Yahoo! Pipes, or a similar aggregator, I’m essentially saying “show me more like this, more articles that align with my point of view.” In contrast, when you buy a newspaper, you’re buying the editors’ point(s) of view. Consider it curated content, but it’s content from a pragmatic angle, likely incorporating some dissent, to build a broader perspective than you might cultivate on your own.
I’m not so worried about the death of a format; I’m more scared by the polarized landscape in a post-editorial board era.