Steve Beck
The daily newspaper has been a staple of our democracy since the 19th century. It is generally held true that without a free press newspaper a democracy would not stand. This country needs investigative journalism to find news and present it objectively. Without the unfolding news reports they provide; how can a citizenry be expected to act responsibly and with compulsory knowledge?
Since the early 1950’s, with the birth of television, people have been predicting the death of the daily newspaper. Information and entertainment beaming straight to your house through a screen sure sounds like the death of newspaper (it's already happening). Television could provide the investigative journalism that is needed to inform the citizenry, but it couldn’t provide everything that a newspaper could; like the personal and classified ads. It wouldn’t happen until 50 years later that ‘information on a screen’ would be mastered to the point where newspapers are practically obsolete.
The internet is the death of the daily newspaper, but there should be no tears over the loss of our old friend. The internet can provide all the investigative journalism that a newspaper can by posting the newspaper articles online. The internet can even do what the television could not: do away with the personal and classified ads through dating websites and buy/sell websites like craiglist.com. The only fault that the internet has when comparing it to the newspaper is that it cannot be directly accessed by everyone in the world; only people with a way to connect can. But, like vines up a wall, the internet is invading every facet of the world and will soon be in reach of every person in the world, thus spelling the death for the daily newspaper.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement regarding the death of the newspaper. Although it may be sad that the newspaper is no longer an importance in people's lives due to the internet, the internet has its own way of reciprocating the information quicker.
Considering this country is in desperate need due to the recession, one would believe that the newspaper would be the most efficient source of knowledge. Contradictory to this, the internet is the most contemporary and considered to be the most useful to both younger and older generations.
Steve, you make a valid point about the internet not being accessed by everyone. Then again, in third world countries, who has the time and money to prescribe to this source of information? This question is yours to ponder, what are your views? On the other hand, when do you perceive that the entire world will be able to access the internet?
I agree that the death of the daily newspaper is inevitabel, however, the internet cannot completely destroy newspapers. In its print form, newspapers will be replaced by the internet.
ReplyDeleteThat does not mean that newspapers should call it a day and surrrender to the internet. Newspaper publications can transform their traditional medium from print to a website.
I believe that the daily newspaper will survive if they chnage over to the internet and start charging people for reading stories on the web.
people still want credibile news sources. Most people will be more apt to read an online article from the "New York Times" or "Wall Street Journal" rather than an online blog
(pause for ironic laughter).
Print newspapers are dead, but not the daily newspaper that could be sold over the web.
-Elisabeth J.