I don't subscribe to the newspaper. I never have. I'm what the industry calls a "pass along" reader. I read copies I find lying around at work or in cafes. Lately, though, it's harder to find the paper. Trends here and nation wide show decreasing print subscriptions. In towns across the U.S. local papers are shrinking in size and content and cities that enjoyed multiple daily papers are now living with just one or none at all. Do we still need them?
I'm not the first person to be asking that question. Since 2009 when major newspapers started to fold and Warren Buffet warned not to invest in them (by the way he changed his mind and bought lots of them in 2012), people have been debating their worth. Newspapers have dual worth. They're a profit taking enterprise and a public good. They're a billion dollar industry that also anchors communities by providing local news, in depth news and important national information. As such, newspapers aid our working democracy. Perhaps not surprisingly many of the people questioning their worth are evaluating their long term profitability irrespective of civic value or community worth. Analyst Ken Doctor calls this effect "the newsonomics of loss."
There's no doubt that digital publication and mobile devices are changing the landscape of information and impacting the format and profitability of newspapers. How do you get news today? Besides print copies of the paper I get my news from the radio, Facebook, blogs and online resources. In other words, lots of places. I like my ability to customize and individualize digital resources but notice that it limits my scope to personal preference. When I read the print newspaper I'm exposed to other perspectives and to stories I wouldn't seek out on my own. Perhaps more importantly, I know that I'm sharing that information and experience with most of the city. Everyone, digitally capable and not, is getting this news. We're all looking at the same front page sitting on our porch, on a cafe table or in the newspaper box as we pass by. In a world of too much information and too much ability to individualize information my local paper and it's fixed format gives me a rare feeling of shared experience and community. It helps me to define my community.
Whether or not print newspapers are still relevant, recent weakness in the industry has opened room for a fundamental shift that's changing their role in society. First of all, jobs for newspaper journalists are shrinking not just migrating to online news sites. Consequently, enrollment in journalism is decreasing at universities, and curricula is changing. If we think of journalists as the profession charged with asking the hard questions and bringing us details of important stories then the loss of journalists isn't just an industry concern isn't it a civic crisis? Secondly, the sell off of city newspapers is causing more conglomeration of news in the hands of wealthy owners and owners with political agendas. An essay on media conglomeration at Santa Clara University notes that 4 out of 5 papers were independent in the 40's yet by 1990 that ratio dropped to just 1 in 5. The ownership of a paper impacts whether or not in depth news is reported, whether local news is fully explored or if a print copy is produced at all. It impacts the public's right to know and, through editorial control, can alter or support public opinion but, if true to journalistic objectivity, will enrich community through balanced news coverage.
Transitions in media are fast moving and complicated. News is increasingly important and complex. Here's a simplified 2013 infographic that sums up much of the shift in print media I've been blogging about. An easy visualization of the recent contraction of newspapers is available here. Click first on 1930 then on 2011 for the biggest contrast. More information on the changing newspaper industry is in this thorough 2013 report on newspapers from Pew Research or, if you want a broader understanding of changes impacting media, visit Pew Research Center's annual publication State of the News Media. Historically, newspapers have done the job of keeping us well informed. Now, it's our job to inform ourselves about the plight of print news. Ask yourself, do we still need newspapers in our cities or are you ready, now, to turn the page?
Update 28 April- President Obama stressed the importance of newspapers in his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner by noting the role The Boston Globe played by informing the nation and local community about the Boston Marathon bombing. "If anyone wonders for example if newspapers are a thing of the past all you needed to do was pick up or logon to The Boston Globe because when their communities and the wider world needed them most they were there making sense of events that at first blush might seem beyond our comprehension and that's what great journalism is and that's what great journalists do..." the President said.
A stimulating discussion at MIT on why newspapers matter.
Update May 19, Scott Simon, on NPR, interviews Pulitzer Prize winner Connie Schultz on plans for the Cleveland Paper to go to 3 days a week publication. Says Schultz, "We [newpapers] don't just break the news. We then explain why it happened. We tell you about the players involved because every story is really about the human beings involved in it." http://www.npr.org/2013/05/18/184989661/local-story-shows-plain-dealer-prowess-but-futures-murky
Update June 10, Chris Hedges, Pulitzer prize winning journalist talks on two occasions about his concern that we're losing press freedom:
Here he reacts to revelations in May 2013 that the Department of Justice sought the work, home and cellphone numbers of approximately 100 Associated Press reporters with the explanation that the government was investigating classified leaks.
Here he reacts, on June 11 2013, to the act of whistle blower Edward Snowden and the way media is viewing the the act. What does this incident say about free press and the changing role of press in society?
Update August 10 2013 The Washington post profiles it's new owner, Amazon billionaire, Jeff Bezos.
Update January 2018 Newspaper subscriptions are up? Could digital ads be driving people back to print? Tech Crunch explores the latest data.
Update January 2019 The New Yorker weighs in on whether journalism will survive the fake news era.
