How Are Newspapers Surviving the WWW
Abstract
Newspaper readership as a percentage of population began dropping in 1940 but the booming population kept the total number of readers on an upward swing until about 1970 according to Journalism.org. Today the World Wide Web has stolen readership and advertising to cause the financial destruction of newspapers.
Where did the readers go? 1940-1990
Newspaper readership began to drop as visual media and radio took off. The trend is glaringly obvious that when radio and television emerged people no longer needed the newspaper to keep abreast of local, state, national and world news. By 1940 an increasing active society no longer had time to sit and read the paper when they could listen to as they went about their day or see it in video on television while they ate their dinner.
It’s Ones and Zeroes Stupid
With the advent and acceptance of the World Wide Web the newspaper industry met its match. Although the writing is of lower quality, for the most part, the Web allowed every publisher wannabe to realize their dream. Suddenly the advertising dollars that were spread thin among traditional publishers were funneling into online ads, hence sounding the final bell for many traditional papers. According to Richard Perez Pena of the New York Times only a handful of newspapers are holding their own today. On Sunday 1-13-2008 The New York Times ran article on the plight of the returning American combat veterans, unfortunately so did over 1 million independent websites do the same for free (Google search 2008); little wonder over why the traditional papers can not keep their doors open in this type of environment.
Conclusion
The popular culture of today is lusting after instant, up to date news for free, regardless of the source. The broadest spectrum of our society has found that they can believe the internet news as readily as the print news and are rapidly moving toward the World Wide Web as the first choice for news.
Reference:
http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.com/narrative_newspapers_audience.asp?cat=3&media=2 , 2004. Retrieved 1-7=2008
Pena, Richard Perez http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/business/media/06adco.html?_r=2&ex=1352091600&en=4e80dbc034e15757&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=login&oref=slogin
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