Tribune Bankruptcy – R.I.P. Newspapers?
The Chicago Tribune today filed for Chapter 11 reorganization protection. Like many other newspapers, it had been in declining health for many years, but its final lifeline was cut by the credit crisis. Should we mourn? Or should we move on and accept these changes as a sign of the times?
Yes, I know the paper is in reorganization, not liquidation, but it’s not getting any help from Dr. Paulson, like the automakers. So I’m guessing its days are numbered.
Other Baby Boomers might remember a little of radio, but radio slid into the background when TV came into every household. Newspapers managed to hold their own, because TV was too new. I wonder why TV didn’t kill newspapers? I’m sure the Internet has done it.
On the one hand, maybe I’m killing off newspapers too soon. They do serve a valuable function in society. They preserve the news in a form that other media can’t. You can get a newspaper showing what happened in the world on the day you were born. Try doing that with the Internet. It’s too ephemeral. Bird cage lining? Bedding for pets?
On the other hand, every medium has had its moment and new media serve the needs of new times. Our children and grandchildren are Internet generations. How many people under 40 do you know who still subscribe to a newspaper? None that I know of. They get their news from The Daily Show and from Matt Drudge. They don’t read. They don’t even write in cursive any more. Heck, I even get my news from the Internet. It’s where I am most of the time. I first learned about the death of JFK Jr. on the Internet – at the top of Google News. News on the Internet is free; newspapers are not. Tell me one item of news or information that newspapers provide that the Internet can’t provide faster and cheaper. OK, well, I guess we won’t see the “funny papers” on the Internet any time soon. But we have JibJab to take their place.
So, back to my original question: Should we mourn the sad death of a great medium, the daily newspaper, or should we move on into the 21st century and consider how to get our news from new media? Post a comment or respond to my poll and let me know what you think.
2 Comments
Hello Jean,
I bet you get most of your news from on-line newspapers. Have you considered that? They re dying but they ain’t dead yet.
David
[...] save a dying industry? Sure a lot of newspapers will fail, but maybe their time has passed. I have written before about newspapers falling out of favor with the public and being replaced by the Internet. When radio was failing [...]