Reaction to Transforming American Newspapers

Vin Crosbie hit home when he described the real reasons for the demise of American Newspapers in his article "Transforming American Newspapers" (http://www.digitaldeliverance.com/blog/2008/08/transforming_american_newspape.html). So many editors, journalism professors and media professionals have blamed online news content as the sole rogue against American newspapers. But the truth is, it is the internet's ability to adhere to a person's individual interests (through sports websites, online music communities, ect.) that has really made the difference.

As a student who can sadly admit to only reading newspapers when it is assigned by a professor, this article's contents were not extremely shocking to me. I spend a good 5 hours online everyday reading articles, message boards and blogs that adhere to my specific interests. Crosbie brings up a fantastic point when saying the Internet allows readers to do something they never could before: use a search engine that can help a person find articles that adhere to their interests and their interests ONLY. Print and broadcast news programs must comply to a broad variety of interests instead of individual ones. Why would a busy working American want to sit down and watch an hour long news show for just one story that interests them when they can search it on google and read 10 different stories about that one subject?

I do not read newspapers as often as a Journalism student should. But I do read news everyday. However, the news I read everyday centers around fashion, rock music and Barack Obama. I may not know the economic issues facing the automobile industry but I do know that Scott Weiland was kicked out of Velvet Revolver earlier this summer and is now in the middle of a reunion tour with Stone Temple Pilots. And to the people I spend my daily life with, the Weiland news appeals to them far more than the car industry.

Newspapers are behind the times as far as catering to individual interests. But they also force us to learn about issues that we would have never searched on Google ourselves. The minimal times I do pick up a newspaper, I learn about international issues and economic crises that are usually much more interesting than I would have first gave them credit for. Without this general content, I would have never heard of Barack Obama when he was just a Illinois Senator. It was a newspaper article that introduced his name to me. Not a search engine. There is still a place in the world for general interest newspapers; they just need to find and implement the right marketing tools if they want to survive the years to come.