As a teenager and young man, I used to read the newspaper quite regularly whether it was to browse the want ads, buy a new car, look at houses or just see what the world was up to. I haven't done this for a very long time and I'm guessing that a lot of others have put up their papers too. With Internet today being by far the best and most up to date medium for information the newspaper is obsolete. I took a look at the Washington Post today to see how it fared when put up against the Internet. I found that although the news information wasn't quite "old", it did lack that "This Just In!" feeling that I get online by refreshing a page. The Post's front page is full of gripping headlines that may convince political aficionados to take a gander, but I am still unswayed to buy this paper dinosaur. My car is in the shop so I thought I'd check out the car ads to look for a deal and to my surprise there was less than half of a page. I can't justify buying it nowadays. In the past few years the price of the Washington Post has more than doubled which in a sense is needed to maintain profits but also has more people asking themselves if they are getting any value for their money. Washingtonpost.com will give you all of the same articles and up to the minute information for free! Why would I shell out 75 cents to a dollar for a paper that just ends up in my recycling bin when I can get the information literally included in my Internet bill? Newspapers need to focus on having an online presence as well as cellular phone applications if they plan on staying in business much longer. The paper will soon be dead unless they can get some bogus legislature passed. http://www.mttlrblog.org/2009/08/19/posners-idea-to-save-the-newspaper-industry-get-rid-of-the-internet/ At the end of the day, progress is about learning to adapt. There's a new generation coming and they don't read newspapers; they do use internet; and if news companies can't realize their profit potentials online they'll be replaced by companies that can.
I think the Internet has become I got to have it right now. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy it but, I think newspapers are still needed. I enjoy looking at the NBA scores. I could easly turn to NBA channel or check scores on my phone. Also many people use newspapers as a primary source. What if power goes out, your phone dies, and there's no radio? You can fall back on the paper.
ReplyDeleteI think that local newspaper will definitely have a place in the internet age. National news however...
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame. I love the Post and enjoy the idea of buying it and reading whereever. It is very relevant in its world and political news..something that you don't get in other newspapers we've disussed.
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