One of our local papers went under. It was a relative newcomer, ressurecting and old name “Philadelphia Bulletin,” which went defunct in 1982, after evening papers went the way of the dodo. The fundamentals for print media don’t look very encouraging. Disastrous would be another word.  When the last newspaper in Philadelphia shuts down its presses, who will report it?
7 thoughts on “Dead Tree Media”
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More to the point, who will care?
Considering the circulation of the two major papers is in the hundreds of thousands, I would say quite a few people, Rev. Paul.
You should care. No matter what someone might think about the spoutings of editorial boards, those newsrooms are still some of the better investigative reporting. They aren’t beholden to 30 second news clips, they can dig deep and get the stories out.
No offense to present company, but the fact is that bloggers are generally writing for a particular bias (example here, where 2nd Amendment support is the focus). As such, they only maintain a credibility within a certain audience. The 4th Estate in the form of newspaper investigative reporters are still the best watchers of government we have. No matter what people say about media bias, all reporters love a scandal, and they aren’t usually concerned about the party affiliation when it comes time to make their bones.
So, despite Cynthia Tucker, I still subscribe to the AJC. Who broke down Atlanta ex-mayor Bill Campbell’s bribery scandals? The AJC. Not the ‘Net. Not the TV stations.
Besides, for some reason or another, I still like to sit at the table and read the paper, not look at my laptop.
No one who writes here would deny that we don’t write with particular biases. It would be absurd to argue that we don’t have opinions.
I actually don’t want to see the mainstream media die off. I’d rather see them evolve. The problem is that they have been so against any form of any evolution that their products really aren’t what the could be anymore. They didn’t know how to compete when the business model started changing. They took on so much debt that could only be paid down if they had their old profit margins. I realize that my position (and Andy’s) isn’t that popular in this realm.
I don’t want to see dead tree media die off completely either, but they do need to change to adapt to modern realities. Apparently you can still make money in print, it’s just not as profitable as it used to be.
Some of the smarter papers have started to blend Internet and tree pulp usage together nicely for their advertisers. I think some old thinkers will die off and new ones will emerge. It’s just change, people always fear change. But occasionally it is good.
I don’t get the paper anymore, I zoom through the various Internet news gathering services. I do not read the Obits either.(Afraid I will see my name there)
Will I pay for a news gathering service someday, it is extremely possible, and my cost might dependant upon my interests and individual subscriptions.
When the last newspaper in Philadelphia shuts down its presses, who will report it?
Most likely blogs will. Dead tree media is dead period. I can understand the issue with their investigative reporting, but when it becomes a tool for partisan hack jobs on a routine basis are we really being served well by it? I for one don’t think it’s worth putting up with their inane and destructive tendencies, just to find out that the Governor speeds on a daily basis.