Do we need Newspapers or Journalism? (Re-Post)

The newspaper industry as a whole is in trouble due to the internet. I feel that people simply do not have the time or will to sit down and read the bulky newspaper every day. Instead, they get their news from their phones or laptops at various times during the day. Large newspapers around the country have recognized this trend, as evidenced by The Chicago Tribune who switched their entire format because of it. The number of people subscribing to newspapers is only going to decline in the future when the entire population becomes computer-literate. The economy as of late has only contributed to the problem as of late with consumers unwilling to pay for something they can get for free.

The circulation of printed newspaper in the U.S. has been on the decline since the 1990s. The New York Times wrote an article this October showing the sharp decrease in circulation as of late, up to a ten percent drop in the last six months. The biggest problem facing newspaper companies is that they have not found a working business model to charge people for their online news. Newspapers at one time basically printed money, but now cannot find a way generate income from their websites online, even with a drastic increase in online readership. Sure there are advertisements online, but the profit generated from these advertisements does not come close to matching print advertisement money.

The newspaper was once a large part of American culture, but online media has taken over that role. News stories travel over the internet instantaneously as they develop. However, this does have its drawbacks as accuracy and credibility are becoming less important than rapidity in reporting. Citizens are filling the role of journalists in many cases now as a result of the internet. Citizen journalism led early reporting of the plane landing in the Hudson River, which was reported and photographed by Twitter users far before large media outlets could respond.

As a result of all of this newspaper companies are now forced to do more with less. They are trying to cater to their dying print audience, while developing and upgrading their websites. If newspapers were to quit printing we could lose important aspects of media like investigative and foreign reporters. I think the best compromise for companies lagging in online readership would be for them to become non-profit organizations to provide this valuable reporting to the citizens. I believe in the end we simply need journalism more than we need newspapers.