Rest in Peace, Newspapers?
Did you read your newspaper this morning? Okay, Boomer.
Ask the Interweb if American newspapers are dying, and you learn about the long, slow, and agonizing death that began after Watergate.
Growing up, my grandparents, my parents, and everyone I knew read multiple newspapers. By the time I was ten, I was reading three newspapers.
Newspapers act as the first draft of history and can help us discover our personal histories. I subscribe to and read four newspapers.
The Poynter Institute, an industry champion, notes that a quarter of all US newspapers died in the 15 years between 2004 and the beginning of the pandemic. These findings from a University of North Carolina study include:
300 newspapers failed in 15 years
1800 communities lack a newspaper
Eight community-scale digital newspapers have been founded, though an equal number have pulled the plug.
Some believe newspapers are too expensive. Most cost less than a cup of coffee, which people have no problem buying. Yet, it’s about perception, and the perception is that news should be inexpensive or free. As my dad might say, “Cheap and worth it.”
And newspapers are a shadow of what they once were. Syndicated columnists have quit, been fired, and moved here on Substack, like nationally known columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Connie Schultz
In contrast, my idol and role model, Erma Bombeck, wrote thrice a week for 900 newspapers. Nine hundred newspapers.
Where do people get their news?
On the internet, news is curated (words used loosely so as not to insult art museums) based on preferences from previous searches. Social media is a huge source of news. Mis- and dis-information abound.
So, here’s what I want you to think about. Do you question what you read or where you read it? Does it matter to you? Do you care if you live in a place without a daily newspaper? I do, so I will continue to subscribe and write for newspapers as long as possible. How very Boomer of me.
A November 2023 report Nieman Labs report shared with me this morning by Georgia journalist Sharon Dunten is called Stop Ignoring the news that the audience actually care about. (And yes, that headline contained the hated adverb actually, actually.)
The report says, “Journalism is at a pivotal crossroads when it comes to meeting audiences where they are.” To keep the industry alive and relevant with a younger audience, journalism must listen to what audiences want. Nieman gave examples, like Taylor Swift or how much to tip your barista.
The report noted audiences understand the difference between Swift’s romantic entanglements and an October 7 Hamas hit on Israel and will go to the trusted news source, not Tik-Tok or Facebook. In the Nieman piece, author Kendall Trammell, a CNN Digital senior producer, challenges news organizations to adapt to cultural changes. She closes her piece with, “Because what’s working with the audiences we have today won’t work for the audiences we’ll have in the future. The clock is ticking, and it’s not on our side.”
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Read a piece on using vintage newspapers in genealogical research here.
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