Slashdot Mirror
Are Newspapers Doomed?
Ponca City, We love you writes "James Surowiecki has an interesting article in the New Yorker that crystalizes the problems facing print newspapers today and explains why we may soon be seeing more major newspapers filing for bankruptcy, as the Tribune Company did last week. 'There's no mystery as to the source of all the trouble: advertising revenue has dried up,' writes Surowiecki, but the 'peculiar fact about the current crisis is that even as big papers have become less profitable they've arguably become more popular,' with the blogosphere piggybacking on traditional journalism's content. Surowiecki imagines many possible futures for newspapers, from becoming foundation-run nonprofits to relying on reader donations to deep-pocketed patrons. 'For a while now, readers have had the best of both worlds: all the benefits of the old, high-profit regime — intensive reporting, experienced editors, and so on — and the low costs of the new one. But that situation can't last. Soon enough, we're going to start getting what we pay for, and we may find out just how little that is.'"
This is an insightful post? How? When comments like this get rated a 4 out of 5 on an information website, you know we're headed in the wrong direction. Newspapers aren't important? Who do you think does all the investigation? Bloggers? Commenters? Where are your references? You want to rely on flash-ban books for your information? To protect democracy? Are you kidding? True: press != newspaper - it could be any form However: news organizations, primarily newspapers, are the largest, most professional fact gatherers we have. If we lose them, there will be a huge void to fill. Thank you for giving me a reason to dust off my account.