by Randy Pinion

Created on: December 16, 2006   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

*Print Journalism: Its Successes and Problems
As the oldest surviving medium for news reporting, many would suspect that print journalism has already solved the many thorny ethical, economic, and organizational problems that plague newer aspects of the communications industry. This is far from the truth, as this paper will attempt to explain. However, as the entire industry undergoes serious introspection, a series of solutions has appeared that will hopefully be implemented in the coming years, both for the sake of American democracy and social awareness and for the industry itself.

*What is it?
According to Princeton University, journalism is defined as "The profession of reporting . . . or editing news stories for one of the media," and in print journalism, newspapers and magazines are said media. The spread of information to the general public in an organized, objective, factual manner is the primary goal of print journalism.

*Where did it come from?
According to Dr. Daly of Boston University in his December 6, 2005, lecture, print journalism's roots can be traced to colonial-era America's "print shops," which were traditionally set up "Master," "Journeyman," "Apprentice" affairs dealing primarily in weekly publications of public opinion.

Over the next 300 years, print journalism became polarized according to public demand, helped modern political parties off the ground, privatized, distanced itself from government regulation, went public, and reassumed a degree of government control . In many ways, the development of print journalism mirrored the development of American democracy, and the two abetted one another through the years.

*Where is it now (Successes and Failures)?
Print journalism is now a multi-billion dollar business. Newspapers and magazines are read by millions daily, advertisers spend months and millions carefully planning ad campaigns, and massive conglomerates like Tribune and Disney buy, sell, and modify a vast majority of American publications. Furthermore, a series of challenges and victories now sits before the industry as a whole.

Many focus on the difficulties faced by print journalism, including major news issues like waning public trust, dwindling revenue and circulation rates, the meteoric rise of both new and non-traditional media, and severe mismanagement. These problems are interrelated. For instance, revenue and circulation rates owe much of their decline to a public shift toward television, radio, and newer technologies (Especially

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