Even more so, the convenience of online news is only convenient for a fraction of Americans. Statistics have shown that in 2005 only 76% of Americans owns a personal computer. This means that almost a quarter of our country's population does not have access to online news on a daily basis and must receive the news from a source other than the Internet.
I feel there is something to be said for the comfort that comes with a newspaper. For centuries it has been mankind's primary source of news, and to completely get rid of it would be the end of an era in some sorts. Personally, the newspaper gives me a feeling of nostalgia when I think back on my childhood. Every morning before I got ready for school, I'd join my father in the kitchen for Eggo waffles and the comics section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. For those fifteen minutes each morning, whether it was a beautiful day or it was pouring rain, nothing else in the world mattered to me except for what kind of trouble Charlie Brown was getting in today and whether I had enough syrup for my waffle. It is clear to me that without the comfort that my waffles and the daily comics section of the newspaper brought me, my childhood would certainly have been more dull.
The technology advances in the past five years are actually mind blowing. However, we still can't assume that everyone is using the internet as their news source. It may be easy for some people to read the news off their blackberry or iPhone, but what about those people who do not have internet access on their phone? There are still those old-fashion people who do not believe in cell phones or simply use them just to make phone calls, nothing else. As a society, we can't assume that everyone is adjusting to these new changes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely concerning the confort the newspaper brings. Eliminating the newspaper will eliminate the bond that is developed over breakfast. Almost everyone could contribute a story of their own involving enjoying breakfast with a parent. But without the newspaper, where will these bond form?
All that people really care about is getting the most updated news. Stovall says, “Text underlines all of the other forms of information presentation because it is the most efficient, explicit, and denotative of all the tools that a journalist has." It doesn't matter whether it's from the newspaper, internet, or television, the text if the most important. Each person will choose how they get their news. It doesn't matter where it came from, as long as it's valid. It's safe to say that the news world has changed, but it can't be said that everyone has accepted it.
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ReplyDeleteI think this is a great angle to view the crisis from because many people are focusing on what the newspapers are doing wrong or what they lack compared to online expediency. It is not newspaper’s inability to adapt to the changing time; it’s the internet’s ability to provide free information at lightning speed. However, it’s also smart to step back and take a look at what citizens are doing wrong and whether or not this newfound convenience is actually good for us. All this hype over technological advances that were made to improve our lives has apparently failed if people are more anxious than ever. American’s are definitely attracted to the efficiency and speed of online news but what are we giving up in exchange for it?
ReplyDeleteThe convenience factor has also affected citizens and their ability to access information. If newspapers become obsolete, we limit the variety of news resources we have available. And, like stated, nearly a fourth of citizens don’t even have consistent access to the internet so what’s their alternative for news once newspapers are gone? The accuracy of what is written on the internet is also important to take into consideration. As explained by Silverblatt “Currently, there is no system of accountability for web pages and blogs; the writer may be using a pseudonym, may have no expertise in the field”. This means that the validity of all news that doesn’t come from a well-known news source such as CNN should be questioned. But, in relying solely on those big news corporations to provide us with information, we are willing handing over the power of what to print and what not to print to these conglomerates. Ultimately, it’s a lose-lose situation.
There is a considerable amount of nostalgia that many people attain from newspapers, but much like the sentimentality for 8-tracks and typewriters, this longing to uphold tradition will not be strong enough to outlast the technological pull. It’s society’s need for information at the push of a button that will lead to the eventual demise of the newspaper. With the number of newspaper subscriptions declining at an even faster rate than projected, that day may be coming sooner than we think. Unless there is some kind of regulation or accountability for what’s being reported, online news will never achieve the reliability of newspapers. Maybe, once the allure of on-the-go rapid living wears off, people will be wishing they could go back to the days when a waffle and Charlie Brown were enough.