The future of the newspaper, and Journalism in general

[Diglytron]

The future of Journalism.
An analyse by a student Journalism.

Intro

In the year I was born, 1994, a Journalist report in the biggest paper in Holland described internet as a 'highly potential news source, something that might be able to take over the role of the paper in the next hundred years'. Almost twenty years later this take-over is going faster than the worst defeatist had ever expected. Hundreds of news websites run by smart and young people have already taken the role of being the first one to bring the news and scoops.

Subscribers

Together with the scoops also readers of the papers disappeared. The amount of subscribers has fallen dramatically in recent years. For example; the famous English newspaper The Guardian dropped in from 2000 till 2010 with almost 200.000 subscribers. A decrease of almost 50%. The Guardian is not alone in this. All across the globe newspapers see decreases of more than 50%. And in the next years its most probably going to decrease even more.

Outro

The main reason for the decreases is the usage of internet to check news. Its faster, easier and above all free. Especially in the younger generation there are less who are subscribed to a newspaper. There is simply no reason for them to read the paper. Everything they have and use is on the internet. In the old generation there is a change visible too. Many of the old guard still reads the paper but chose to buy it individualy, on the date they have time or when something big has happened. The last two years almost all papers saw a decrease even after they thought it could not get any lower.


Most media reconise the thread today and try to move as quikly possible to the internet. However, like many Journalists admit, the run for the web went to fast. In the hurry to attract readers to their websites papers trow letterly their whole paper online. Resulting in the loss of even more readers.

Change

Change in the work of a Journalist.


Because of the decrease of subscribers many Journalists and photographers are fired in the past years. Though many papers try to keep the same quality and amount of pages in the paper. This, and the run for the web, changed the job of a Journalist a lot. During my study and work placements I have met many journalists working for classical papers or new and smart websites.


The change in work is maybe the best visible for photojournalist. Where photographers were practically running from A to Z to take pictures, and then back to the paper to give them, they now have to be fast. Like photojournalists of the Times of Malta describes it: “Make the picture and directly uploading it to the web. Next to the picture we also make video's now. We are technically not photographers anymore, we don't take pictures but images”.

Papers using absurd low prices to attract readers.

Future

Future of the classical media


The classical papers are still watching sceptical to the internet. They see it as a threat to their readers. “If we begin placing news, photo's and video's online, there is no reason for readers to stay with the paper. They would simply move to our, free, website”.


The classical papers forget that they already are losing a lot of their reader base. Readers which probably never will return. How the future for the newspaper will develop in the next years is unsure. Some papers, like the Independent and the Guardian are already experimenting with paid internet subscriptions. They are not longer using the internet as a way to attract people to the paper, they start using their name as a famous newspaper to get fast visitors to their websites.


Editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller, recognise the dangerous situation news papers are in at the moment. Though, he thinks its very unlikely the paper will disappear completely. ,,My expectation is that in the foreseeable future our business will continue to be a mix of print and online journalism, with the growth online offsetting the decline of print'', he wrote in the NYT in 2009.


His opinion is shared by Nick Bilton of The Times. ,,Paper is dying, of course. But paper is just a device. You can just replace it with pixels''. I think this the right analyse. Luckily enough most papers are awake now and buzzy with taking steps for the future. Like publisher of the New York Times, Arthur Sulzberger Jr said at the Newsroom Summit last year; ,,We will stop printing the New York Times sometime in the future, date only to be decided.


The time of the newspapers seem over. Even if they can swap to the internet in good shape they will never reach the same height and quality as they had almost 30 years ago. Sure, The companies behind the paper will survive, but only in name.

Sources

http://www.hoi-online.nl/382198/HOI-...rs-2012-Q3.pdf


http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/news...oves-painfully-slow/newspapers-by-the-numbers/


http://recoveringjournalist.typepad....years-ago.html


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/bu...anted=all&_r=0


http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=3885

Well, TWC, what you think about the future of Journalism? In my article I only write about the newspaper, but the future is of course much bigger. Will the quality go down as newspapers start to disappear? What is the role of the television and radio in the future?



And I wonder, how many of you are still reading the newspaper? I read 2 Dutch newspapers, the NRC Next and the Volkskrant. Though, I am considering about leaving one of them cause its really expensive for me as a student to maintain both...

[Miroslav Klose]

Wessel de Cok 20:25

ok noaw post here plox
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=584192
I need comments

As you wish, Master.

Reading newspapers for just the news is indeed a bit odd. We're subscribed to the Volkskrant. I prefer newspapers above most news sites because it provides more information, backgrounds, other opinions and analasys. I'd rather read a well written article a day later than reading some copypasted thing.

And it's just nice to read a newspaper at breakfast.

[Diglytron]

As you wish, Master.

Reading newspapers for just the news is indeed a bit odd. We're subscribed to the Volkskrant. I prefer newspapers above most news sites because it provides more information, backgrounds, other opinions and analasys. I'd rather read a well written article a day later than reading some copypasted thing.

And it's just nice to read a newspaper at breakfast.

Thanks for your comment sir Tukker. Its appreciated. And I agree with you, reading a newspaper at breakfast or in the train is nice.

[Condottiere 40K]

Because of our increasing attention span deficit, we'll want a quick summary of most news from a reliable source. It's probable more detailed and lengthier articles will be hidden behind paywalls.

Why does the written word still matter? Multi-tasking, as we read while listening to audio media, and possibly watching something else from the corner of our eye.

It's also possible that free printed papers will continue to be available at major transportation nodes for early morning and evening commuters.

[DimeBagHo]

One factor that's killing newspapers in the US is the loss of classified advertising. It used to be a major source of revenue in itself and a driver for sales. Craigslist has put an end to that.

[mrmouth]

The problem is the profit margin. The old guard in the newspaper business have done everything they can keep that margin without embracing change. As a result they missed some opportunities and were late to others. But that all came after they were forced to act - and still some folded. Increasing cost to balance declining readership was a disaster.

The parallels in this regard to the automotive industry are obvious. The difference is that one makes cars.

As for the state of Journalism (outside of the vitally important local journalism that is often the only means to deal with corruption), the tenants that made great newsmen and agencies are dead. No better example than in the US where the great news arms of the great broadcasting companies all closed their office around the world, long ago. You used to have a network of informed people who could report first hand. They lived in these areas. Now they just travel to them, if even that. Often they just pay sources, vetting the information as best as they can while being thousands of miles away.

So that is dead. It is all about maximizing profit through reporting on popular topics, with a sprinkling of genuine news that often gets twisted to absurd levels. And let's not forget the massive injection of opinion.

Now you just need to fight for your local news to remain viable. That is all we have left. Buy a newspaper or subscribe to a local news site. A 7-day a week subscription to the Chicago Tribune is now just under $100. But that is surely less than the cost of unchecked state and city corruption.

[Condottiere 40K]

I'll speculate that sped up reaction through the vehicle of mobile computing and internet surfing may create social sites dedicated to local news and gossip, whether forum, twitter or reddit derived.

[DDWingate]

There will always be journalism, but the necessity and attention paid to them will decrease, or as Neil Postman said, 'the truth (journalism) will be drowned in a sea of irrelevance (the remaining 98% of the internet)"

Who seriously wants to read an entire article on a monitor? I'd rather look at close-up footage of cats wearing sunglasses or hipsters ironically talking about nicky minaj

[Raubritter]

I'am glad many of them are going down.

Sports ain't news.

On the other hand, the alternativ media are 99.8% bloggers who don't know stuff and just copy and paste the newspapers. The biggest problem is you need people who can report on site.

[Eliazar]

I'am glad many of them are going down.

Sports ain't news.

On the other hand, the alternativ media are 99.8% bloggers who don't know stuff and just copy and paste the newspapers. The biggest problem is you need people who can report on site.

Correct!