by Bruno Somerset

Created on: March 15, 2007   Last Updated: May 13, 2007

For some time now, newspapers have been declining in both circulation and profitability. The main culprit is obvious: the Internet, which is not only hurting newspaper readership but also having a negative effect on both the quality and quantity of print journalism.

Our desire for instant information, combined with ever-shorter attention spans, has fueled this trend. By the time a story comes out in our local newspaper, it has already been on 10 websites for at least 12 hours. Since most Internet news sites do not charge subscription fees, many people prefer to not pay to read a story they already read for free the day before.

There is a downside to this instant news access. People will generally skim an online article, while being more likely to read an entire printed one. So while we have more access to more news, often we end up less informed. And stories are bumped so quickly by a newer or bigger story, it's easy to miss things.

This fact should make newspapers more valuable as sources of in-depth news. However, newspapers are trying to become more like the Internet in their coverage; even in print there are far less in-depth stories than there used to be. Daily papers have to compete with television news and the web, and thus have become more likely to move on to the next hot item. So once again we have more information, but only superficial information at best.

Blogs present another challenge to newspapers. We are bombarded every minute of every day with opinions, rumors, misinformation, and spin by a plethora of blogs, many of which are run by professional reporters and news outlets. The line between the facts of a story and the opinion of the writer has blurred to the point of being invisible. Eventually we reach the point of not wanting to read anything at all.

There is a way for newspapers to survive, and even thrive. The Internet news sites do a fine job of covering national and world news, but continue to fall short in coverage of local and regional issues and events. Papers that have shifted to more in-depth reporting on things that hit readers close to home have experienced an increase in both circulation and advertising revenues. In many cases, they have the advantage of being the only source for their particular local news.

Switching focus back to local news goes beyond hard news, however. Many papers in smaller communities cover everything from youth sporting events to local charities and social programs. Some will even report the number of times a cow blocked a farm-to-market road that week. It's not global warming, but it matters to people in that community.

I rarely issue a call to action in an article, but I am making an exception this time. I want everyone who reads this to go out today and buy your local newspaper. Read it all the way through (it won't take that long), and see if it wasn't worth the fifty or seventy-five cents you paid. If nothing else, at least you can spread a newspaper out on the table on a Sunday morning, swapping sections back and forth with your significant other. When you're done you can make a paper hat, recycle it, or wrap fish in it. Try doing that with your laptop.

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