Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Alive & Kickin’

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The Myth of the Dying Newspaper

• Roger Plothow, editor/publisher, The Post Register, Idaho Falls, Idaho:
“[T]he tens of thousands of people who produce community newspapers across the country have grown quite weary of hearing how readership is falling, the business is dying and the local newspaper is losing relevance. It simply isn’t so.

“Newspapers have been hit financially, like just about nearly every other business in the country, because of the recession. But the hit has come on the advertising side of the ledger, not in readership.” URL

Nancy Conway, editor, The Salt Lake Tribune:
“News is everywhere today — or at least that’s the way it seems — in print, via broadcast, on the Internet, and through our cell phones. No wonder some folks complain about being overwhelmed by information. It feels like just too much to sort through.

“That may be why most people still rely on traditional news sources for their information…. In case you were in doubt, many people still read newspapers. A 2010 study by the Pew Research Center for People and The Press suggests that about 50 percent of adults still use traditional local newspapers as a primary source of news. Online, about 67 percent of news consumers get their news on ‘legacy,’ or traditional, news provider sites such as The Salt Lake Tribune.” URL

Editorial Comment: Gotta be true—I saw it in the newspaper.


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3 comments:

  1. What they really mean when they say "newspapers are dead" is that newspapers are dead as an investment vehicle that can generate double-digit profits and huge cash flow to owners willing to slash staff, service and quality. It is very much a Wall Street paradigm analysis, and to that extent it is true; the limp hollowed-out rags left behind from that business model are of no use at all to anyone. Probably even too toxic to use for wrapping fish.

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  2. Oh, please. Wish people were informed, or even made an effort at it, but few newspapers are producing journalism at a level at which they used to, in print or online. It’s tragic for our country.
    —Tony

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  3. Nope, they are definitely not dying. It’s just a bunch of techno-nerds who keep saying that, because they think everybody should do what they do.
    —Jim

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