I’ve read a fair share of articles gleefully reporting the decline and anticipated death of print media, especially newspapers. As a newspaper reader I’ll be the first to admit that many NYTimesnews organizations have dropped the ball and while chasing profits, essentially gutted their institutions. I gave up on our local in the past year because it essentially cut all of the local, relevant sections and writing and became an aggregator for news wires and abridged New York Times.

While many locals have failed in their mission, the New York Times continues (in my mind) to stand out for its quality journalism and editorial content. I know many of the counter arguments involve the wide availability of publishing, multiple sources, etc. However, my concern is that without third-party editorial staffs and investments in journalism in faraway places you lose important stories that deserve to see the light of day. Otherwise, I foresee a vacuum where we have citizen journalism on one side and tabloid/television news on the other.

I’m closely watching the Times and it’s consideration of plans for charging for online content. I hope they’re able to develop a plan that will allow the paper to be profitable and continue to publish. We should not be celebrating the death of newspapers as a medium, but instead cheering them to meet the challenges of the future.

Advertisement