Newspapers on Decline

By Amelia Jaycen/NTNewsnet

The history of Journalism is more than three centuries long, and printed newspapers have dominated most of that. Today, the news is many newspaper companies are closing down and stopping the presses, and fast.

A map-based compilation of newspaper layoffs at Erica Smith’s Paper Cuts blog, quotes 2,166 layoffs in 2007, 15,622 in 2008, and 3,229 reported as scheduled for this year. Newspapers are downsizing, offering buy-outs to staff, and some are even closing altogether. Fifty have closed already in 2009.

So where did it all go wrong? Many blame the newspapers themselves, for failing to realize that releasing their news free of charge on the web is a death wish.

Former UNT professor and seasoned Journalist Keith Shelton said the disappearance of newspapers is not inevitable, but it is not impossible either. “I think that would be a tragedy for the country, for everybody,” he said.

WeWerePrint.com, is a blog for “former and soon-to-be former journalists,” who are looking to band together to overcome the strange circumstances in which their careers are suddenly halted. These sites are not alone in their discussion of newspaper’s decline. The news is, literally, all over the web.

Why do we need newspapers if we can get news on-the-spot, on the web? “Print newspaper is the local news source,” Shelton said, “the one that covers local concerns, from obituaries to little league games. I don’t think the Internet news sources will have the staff or the revenue to do that.”

News on the web is now a sort of hybrid, with sites taking names like “The Blog Tribune”. Mainstream news sites and the blogosphere are being forced to interact more and more- the two are competitors in a realm of free information and easy dissemination. The problem with blogs, Shelton said, is accuracy, “There’s no editing in the process, no one checking what is being put out, which leaves it very highly inaccurate.”

A newspaper’s staff is its source of strength. Reduced staff means reduced coverage. The cuts at papers across the country may be a dangerous sign of a coming loss of quality news in the U.S.

The problems facing newspapers, in all their forms, are many. Technology is changing at speeds never seen before, and everybody is trying to evolve with it. The question remains: Will Web-based news be able to fill the giant shoes of print newspaper, and how?

And, if not, will the newspaper head back on the rise?

by Kristen Calogero

Comments

By Elise Brooking on March 31st, 2009 at 11:31 am

Hi Amelia,

This comment isn’t related to the story, but rather, a request from the Mayborn. Who would I contact in order to get information on here about the upcoming Journalism Banquet (on April 18th)?

I have the poster design, but I’m not sure who to send it to… I tried searching for “contact info” on this site, but couldn’t find any.

Thank you! Just let me know. You can email me back at the address I’ve provided. We’re trying to get the word out!

Elise Brooking