There is a website, NewspaperDeathWatch.com, that is monitoring the decline of the printed newspaper. The site claims to chronicle the death of the newspaper and the rebirth of journalism. The newspaper’s decline has reached new lows, and as the curve of printed news declines, the curve of electronic publications is reaching new heights.
I feel like there is something lost when you have to open up a laptop to get your news while you sit at the breakfast table and sip your coffee. I like to feel the news. I like to look for pens to work the crossword puzzle, and I like the sound of the pages turning.
With such a slump in printed journalism, how will this affect the journalism major? UNM has implemented a multimedia journalism curriculum, preparing students for work in online publications as well as in print work.
The college newspaper still plays an important role in the study and practice of journalism for aspiring student writers, editors and publishers. In order for universities like UNM to maintain their accreditation, they must maintain an independent student newspaper.
Unfortunately, the national newspapers still in print don’t have that kind of protection. Local publications that are able to maintain readership have come to rely on ad sales as their only source of revenue and don’t charge readers for the printed copies, like the New Mexico Daily Lobo, Alibi and IQ. The trend is that readership is high, and high readership generates more ad sales, keeping the paper alive. These papers have found a way to reach and keep an audience with more risqué reporting and active participation, with readers in various issues on their likes and dislikes.
Blogs are also a hit with writers, but driving traffic there and getting paid to write them are an entirely different story.
What will happen if (and when) printed news becomes extinct? Will I always need computer access to get the chance to read a newspaper? Will I be able to get the news without pop-up ads? What would Benjamin Franklin think of this new method of news transmission to the masses? And what am I going to pack my glasses in when I move? I am rallying to keep printed news alive, to have the paper with my morning coffee, turn the pages and get newsprint all over my fingers. I want to use a pen to work the crossword and cut out funny cartoons and put them on my fridge. Printed news is an experience I hope we don’t lose.
