I think newspapers are fast becoming an endangered species.
It's a sad fact, and one I really don't want to accept, being a reporter at a local newspaper company.
Newspapers have a long history and can be traced back some five centuries to newsletters and pamphlets passed out with information, sometimes sensationalized, that were used to inform and persuade. In America, the first successful newspaper, the weekly Boston News-Letter, was created in 1704, and from there, more tries were made in history to circulate newspapers throughout the colonies and later the states.
The mass market for newspapers opened in the 1800s, with the rise of the "penny press," named as such because a newspaper was sold for a penny. Although newspapers obviously are more expensive now, the market has grown with the rise of such papers as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and others.
Of course newspapers have not been without their scandals with terms such as muckrakers (those who investigate and expose corruption, unsanitary conditions and ethical violations) and yellow journalism (referring to unethical practices by the media), that all paint journalists in general in a bad light (not to mention this aspect highlighted in films where the reporter sets out to expose the main character who is supposed to be inherently more likeable than the media itself).
And I have to wonder if these negative impressions of journalists can color our opinions of newspapers as people lean more toward the Internet where just about anyone can post information from a computer in the living room.
It seems like the age of the newspaper is slowly coming to an end as the Internet takes over and news at our fingertips becomes the norm. Now, I'm 23 years old, a member of the Internet age myself, but I cannot imagine not having an actual newspaper in my hands.
It's the way I feel about magazines and books as well. Holding the tangible pieces of paper in my hands is a thrill, turning the pages by hand rather than pressing a button to do so. I actually downloaded some books on my iPod and, while it is pretty amazing to have more than one book at a time in the palm of my hand, after a few days of reading that way, I found I really missed holding the real thing.
Then there are your everyday technical issues that come with depending on the Internet for news. Between computer crashes, connection problems, and whatever else could go wrong, the Internet is not guaranteed to work all the time. Then that whole news at our fingertips thing goes by the wayside.
Plus there is the issue of the reporter and the work he or she actually does for a newspaper. The journalist gathers sources, researches topics, conducts interviews, and puts all that information into an article to inform and teach the general public. With the Internet accessible to anyone, I have to wonder whether there will be a market for a journalist to do this job when anyone can post information freely on his or her own.
But I digress. I am a newspaper reporter for a company that covers local news in New Jersey. And, much like so many newspapers around the country in these tough economic times, we are struggling to get subscribers and advertisements - in other words, make money - while we try to continue delivering relevant news to our communities. Every day, I go about my job as I have for the past two years, delivering news about the local government, reporting on fascinating programs and interviewing members of the communities.
I know that will not change if news is completely delivered on the Internet. Reporters will still be needed to conduct interviews and write articles, which will just be published through a different method. Even now, the company I work for has been updating its own Web site, creating a space for breaking news, starting different blogs and establishing its own presence online, all fueled by the work of its reporters.
And that's all well and good. But as more and more opportunities become available online, I have to wonder, where is the market for the old-fashioned newspaper that people held in their hands while sipping coffee in the morning or relaxing in bed after a long day? And where is the market for the individual reporter, doing the research and the interviews, if the Internet allows a regular John Doe to post news on his own private blog?
It's old fashioned, I know, and maybe strange-sounding coming from a young women in her 20s, but, hey, sometimes the classics are always the best - and always worth saving.