When I was in third grade and at the height of the Bad Boy era of the Detroit Pistons era, my older brother would read the sports section and I would read it during breakfast. In sixth grade when the Wings starting winning and going to the playoffs on a regular basis, it would be myself and my younger brother fighting for the sports section. The newspaper would come 8am each day and my mother would have it on the table when we got home from school. I thank my parents for that as I read the newspaper and my pursuit of journalism and the fine print continues.
The internet blindsided the newspapers. It is that simple. I write for Patch.com as a freelance writer. I write for a online publication which was 2o years ago your local newspaper. It is the fault of the newspapers for not adjusting to the internet. The internet took the newspapers and made it localized and made the information so instant. Right now as I write this blog, The Birmingham Patch Twitter is updating Country Day winning in basketball. How cool is that? To know how your high school is doing in a basketball game you cant attend while your sitting at home doing homework or serving dinner.
What you know about the newspaper as you grew up is gone. Every major publication still prints but guess where most of the ad dollars are going ? That's right on the net. Blogs are being sponsored. Most ads are on the net. New ways of writing are popping up every day. Granted, the News and Free Press writers are taking a hit in their salaries and some of the writing has suffered as the writers leave to start up sites like..Patch.com and Mlive. I think this will expand journalism and make us aware that when changes are coming, to change with them or get left behind.
Think about how many prominent writers left major news papers to blog! The NY Times lose reporters all the time to "go solo."
ReplyDeleteIs "going solo" such a bad thing? Have we lost the organization and structure of newspapers in exchange for poorer writing? Are we that fast-paced that we need the internet to get us news? Why can't we just slow down a bit and support local businesses, like our local newspaper?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I love having news right at my fingertips, quick and updated. Yes, I think some of the quality might have suffered, but it's really just been dumbed down so that we can read headlines faster and take in more information.
@Roger - I love the idea of getting play by play updates on Twitter, or having an article about the game published on a blog an hour after the final buzzer, instead of waiting for the paper the next morning. I have to say though, that I've been featured in a few articles before, and I love the thrill of picking up that paper - that hard copy, real-deal paper - and seeing my name and picture right there in front of me! Seeing it online just isn't the same!
For me, I like the quick bits of information. I can multitask and do more. @Sasha I will admit the level of journalism has dumb down a lot.
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