Sunday mornings in high school were glorious. I'd sprawl on my belly on the living room carpet, elbows propped, legs in the air (poster child for clipart reading graphics) and peruse The Buffalo News for hours.
When I got to college, Sundays with The Buffalo News earned a top spot on my list of things I missed from home. While I had access to The New York Times and local Ithaca papers on campus, they failed to capture my interest. I spent a few weeks being woefully ignorant of current affairs, then grudgingly switched the homepage on my laptop to CNN. Thus began my dependence on internet news.
Three years later, my morning ritual consists of scanning CNN.com for 5-10 minutes while I eat breakfast. Admittedly, I'm drawn to quirky headlines like "Elmo Joins H1N1 Flu Fight" and "Woman Sees Face of Virgin Mary in Grilled Cheese" first, but I do (usually) have time to read a few conventional articles.
Still, I miss The Buffalo News. When I visit Buffalo on school breaks, I relish my reunion with my beloved paper. Even better, my aunt and uncle get it daily, so it's no longer just a weekend affair.
Mind you, this is coming from a proud member of the Net Generation. I can't imagine my life without Facebook and e-mail and Google. But some things are better un-digitized. The Buffalo News online just isn't the same as the paper version. And my eyes still haven't forgiven me for reading the Twilight series online this summer.
To say print newspapers are in trouble is to say cell phones were a good idea. While the Daily Show's visit to the New York Times was riotous, the financial plight of newspapers is macabre.
Unless these wheezing anachronisms have some fresh air (er, money) pumped into them. One idea? Turn newspapers into nonprofit organizations by endowing them. Freed from the burden of a bottom line, newspapers could instead concentrate on quality, objective content. Ideal journalism and newspapers live to see another day. Can't do better than that.
Yes, it would take some arm-pulling and a change in the way we currently view newspapers. But in the words of Harold Wilson, "He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery."
Unless we do something, that's where our newspapers are headed.
When I got to college, Sundays with The Buffalo News earned a top spot on my list of things I missed from home. While I had access to The New York Times and local Ithaca papers on campus, they failed to capture my interest. I spent a few weeks being woefully ignorant of current affairs, then grudgingly switched the homepage on my laptop to CNN. Thus began my dependence on internet news.
Three years later, my morning ritual consists of scanning CNN.com for 5-10 minutes while I eat breakfast. Admittedly, I'm drawn to quirky headlines like "Elmo Joins H1N1 Flu Fight" and "Woman Sees Face of Virgin Mary in Grilled Cheese" first, but I do (usually) have time to read a few conventional articles.
Still, I miss The Buffalo News. When I visit Buffalo on school breaks, I relish my reunion with my beloved paper. Even better, my aunt and uncle get it daily, so it's no longer just a weekend affair.
Mind you, this is coming from a proud member of the Net Generation. I can't imagine my life without Facebook and e-mail and Google. But some things are better un-digitized. The Buffalo News online just isn't the same as the paper version. And my eyes still haven't forgiven me for reading the Twilight series online this summer.
To say print newspapers are in trouble is to say cell phones were a good idea. While the Daily Show's visit to the New York Times was riotous, the financial plight of newspapers is macabre.
Unless these wheezing anachronisms have some fresh air (er, money) pumped into them. One idea? Turn newspapers into nonprofit organizations by endowing them. Freed from the burden of a bottom line, newspapers could instead concentrate on quality, objective content. Ideal journalism and newspapers live to see another day. Can't do better than that.
Yes, it would take some arm-pulling and a change in the way we currently view newspapers. But in the words of Harold Wilson, "He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery."
Unless we do something, that's where our newspapers are headed.
I found some cool news, about the news!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/washington_times_plans_to_experiment_with_citizen_journalism_04140985743/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101864_2.html
Both of these articles point towards a new socially-oriented news-media structure. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing (most of society has not studied journalism). I fear that this could create "popular news" that overpowers "quality news", with lots of opinions and such. But it is certainly a trend, and one more newspapers might adopt if they think it will help them stay relevant.
-Gage