It seems that an increasing number of supposedly intelligent men and women and making this statement about newspapers – and circulation numbers seem to back up their claims.
However, what gets me is how proud they seem to be about it.
Ummm?
Perhaps it is because they revel in their ignorance of the world around them?
Or maybe it is because they don’t think they could handle the information presented within their pages?
Perhaps they are just too closed-minded to read information that might go against their preconceived notions of how the world works?
Maybe they are so out of touch that they believe they will get all the news they need from their television and Internet?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Newspapers are the cornerstone of our democracy. Without them, we will be DOOMED. Seriously.
If you doubt this statement, or think it’s overblown, just do the following: Read the local newspapers in a region a television or radio station supposedly “covers” in a day and then see how much information they “report” that morning, afternoon and evening. It will blow your mind. The same is true about “hyper-local news organizations,” only here the information is often more than a few hours late, so you might want to keep that original newspaper around for a week or so to reference.
Or, better yet, all newspapers should shut down their operations (print and online) for 48 hours. Then watch all other media entities suffer. Seriously chaos will ensue in their newsrooms. Sure, you will see a bunch of fire stories, but that’s about it. You will lose all substance, which is precisely what newspapers bring.
So sure, don’t subscribe to newspapers, but don’t complain when our society collapses. It will be too late.
Newspapers need a pay wall set up immediately. They need to put all of their content behind digital barriers that only people who pay can access.
This needs to be done effectively in an innovative way. Then, and only then, might our society and democracy be saved.