The Future of News

I think the Simpsons got it right- the medium of print journalism is indeed dying. The documentary Stop the Press, discusses the downward spiral that print journalism has taken in the last few years. That's not to say that the quality of writing has decreased, but rather the number of people who read the newspaper on a day to day basis has diminished drastically. The documentary stated that this lack of public interest in newspapers has ultimately led to numerous cut backs in newspaper employment and has even caused several newspapers to go under. According to one of the documentary's sources, newspaper employment is down 20%. One of the reasons for all the cutbacks is because of the introduction of new media in the journalism world. Many people find it easier to get their news from online sources. This creates a severe problem for newspapers who charge money for their papers and also make it available online for no cost. I feel that print journalism needs to make drastic changes to its operations if it wishes to thrive in our technologically advanced society. One source from the documentary predicted that the last paper will be recycled in the year 2040. This prediction, while harsh comes from observing the beating that print journalism has taken in the last few years. Newspapers have fewer and fewer dedicated followers, and this is simply because people like news that is fast, easy, and convenient....