An ode to newspapering

It is a curious feeling to have survived a round of massive layoffs at a newspaper company. While very fortunate for the time being, there is pain and remembrance for those who were forced out and a sobering reminder of how our once-vibrant industry was.

I've always considered myself lucky to be doing what I love and be paid for it (well, some there is a relative semblance of compensation ;-) I am not naive to not realize what stubborn perils and outdated business models have brought newspapers and magazines to the breaking point (and total death for some that have been around for more than 100 years).

But to say print periodicals are a thing of the past is, too, myopic and ignorant. For your consideration: The Canmore Leader in Alberta, Canada ran a story about the industry's state, poking holes in the theory that the Web is the only way to go nowadays.

"The ad revenue scenario no longer only applies to print publications, the 'State of the News Media' reports says. Ad revenues for online publications were down 48 per cent in 2008," the Leader article stated.
The article goes onto the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which just closed as a print paper and went totally online: Very little original reporting is online and not much professional/objective reporting is done for the Web.

The Leader story continues: "Supporters of community journalism can find a seed of hope and should know that they are the backbone of a cure. The results of a recent Globe and Mail online poll suggest that readers care. Around 10,000 people, 72 per cent of those polled, said it’s important to have local newspapers. Only 10 per cent said, 'No, I don’t read my local paper.' Only 18 percent said, "No, online media can fill the gap."

It didn't help matters that, as a David Sirota column explains, money-bleeding newspapers cut down on strong local reporting - the key to garnering and maintaining loyal audiences - in favor of cheaper national "news," much of which is sensational/quasi-celeb crap that sometimes contains a thinly veiled bias. Then there's that contemporary human nature problem of most people, particularly younger folks, whose shrinking attention spans enjoy flashy, noisy 30-second soundbites.

Leaving the future of print journalism solely to the mere idea of subjective bloggers and so-called "citizen journalists" is not appealing to me as a purist. And I'm sure many other readers, advertisers and media practitioners feel the same way.

A Globe and Mail story puts it this way: "...nobody has been able to explain is how the Internet will be able to fund the extremely expensive and often dangerous work of reporting. Nobody has been able to convince surfers used to a completely free Internet that they should pay for news stories. And online advertisers pay their hosts very little for the space."

A senator's proposal to have the federal government allow newspapers to operate as non-profits really won't help. After all, as critics say, that could invite (ultimately) government control. It's not a cure in any way. All that could happen - and it'll take time - is for newspapers to resize, restructure and reevaluate their business practices, advertising marketing strategies and reporting priorities.

Remember that it has always been up to your local newspaper -- be it the major metro daily or the small town semi-daily, alternative weekly or the suburban weekly -- to serve as your main source of reliable, accurate, updated news and human interest features in an array of fields. It is your newspaper who gives you stories about what your children achieve in school or what corporation is dumping toxic waste in your backyard.

For a purist reader or writer, there are few things better than waking up, checking your email to see if anything's blown up or a war started the previous night, drinking a coffee (or breakfast shake) and browsing through the morning edition.

A tangible publication (of usually news you can use) you can take with you anyplace. You can't really do that with the Web. And no, not even your iPhone or clone will really ever be an apt replacement. So newspaper haters/misunderstanders -- suck it!