Will all newspapers soon die?

[argonsagas]

I get my news from the Epoch Times.

In the Ole Yew Ess they were called "desperadoes".

[argonsagas]

The New York times and Wall Street Journal, seem to be surviving okay. Lesser fish wrap, like the L.A. Times, where I live, isn't worth the read. There in lies the rub; as readership has dwindled, and staff writers have been diminished, the quality of the product has suffered. Also, media in general, skews liberal, and many of us don't have any interest in skewed reporting. My guess is that within the next 10 years, the daily paper, delivered to your home, will be dead.

That was a nice encapsulation of my own thoughts, and the reason for the thread..

[trent]

I talk with my uncle every Sunday, kinda cool, he's always got stories to go along with questions or situations I ask him about.

So I asked him about newspapers, he didnt really have much to say as far as if they will cease to exist or not..lol

But he did tell me that when he was 11-13 he delivered newspapers , his first paper route was solely in a small but nice trailer park, he had about fifty customers.

Then his family moved and he got another paper route with about 110 customers and in a upscale neighborhood around a golf course, he said paperboys would have to go and collect eveyweek or so, but most of the people on his new route sent checks directly to newspaper office, so he didn't have to....and he said at Christmas time, most of those people gave him at least a five dollar tip....he said it was paperboy dream route., but Wednesday and Sundays the papers were so big he could only get about twenty in his newspaper bag so he'd make several trips.....this paper was everyday event, said he probably got fifteen bucks a week..lol

I ask if there were still paperboys and he said he didn't think their had been paperboys for a long time, but back in the seventies, in our town there were hundreds of them, practically everyone got the news paper...from the way he said it, seems like it was good thing for kids to do?

[dpep]

I get my news from the Epoch Times.

I rely on mailings from Hillsdale College myself.

[hank2]

Most of these posts ring true for me and our local paper. The local paper served a city of about 90k and surrounding county of 400k. It was actually a substantial paper with good staffs in arts, sports and excellent local reporting. A local AM radio station that they once owned was the local news radio source. They overextended themselves on elaborate new presses about 12 years ago. That was the beginning of the end. That and a steady drop in people who would pick up anything to read. I've read that some of the major names in newspapers that still remain in the US are propped up by billionaire benefactors who make up their loss margins. That had been the case with our paper for some years. A son-in-law of a son-in-law of the couple who owned the paper and much else for much of the 20th century covered their losses for some years. He was/is also a billionaire. The chump change boost of $2-3 million a year became too bothersome, it seems.

The paper still exists and still publishes 7 days a week. It was purchased by a Colorado print media buyer and dismantler as the only bankruptcy auction bidder. It's a very sad remnant of what it had been. I've heard that it's published by about 3 people. Permanant no raises employment. Pages shrunk by about 80%. There is no proof reading or fact checking. Any issue has news that's 2 to 4 days old. I've always loved the print format but it's going fast.

I think that the largest negative of not having a local watchdog is the now total lack of government monitoring. They used to have reporters or free-lance hires attending all the municipal government meetings, including school boards and County. That is all gone and the formerly monitored office holders and employees know it.

[argonsagas]

Most of these posts ring true for me and our local paper. The local paper served a city of about 90k and surrounding county of 400k. It was actually a substantial paper with good staffs in arts, sports and excellent local reporting. A local AM radio station that they once owned was the local news radio source. They overextended themselves on elaborate new presses about 12 years ago. That was the beginning of the end. That and a steady drop in people who would pick up anything to read. I've read that some of the major names in newspapers that still remain in the US are propped up by billionaire benefactors who make up their loss margins. That had been the case with our paper for some years. A son-in-law of a son-in-law of the couple who owned the paper and much else for much of the 20th century covered their losses for some years. He was/is also a billionaire. The chump change boost of $2-3 million a year became too bothersome, it seems.

The paper still exists and still publishes 7 days a week. It was purchased by a Colorado print media buyer and dismantler as the only bankruptcy auction bidder. It's a very sad remnant of what it had been. I've heard that it's published by about 3 people. Permanant no raises employment. Pages shrunk by about 80%. There is no proof reading or fact checking. Any issue has news that's 2 to 4 days old. I've always loved the print format but it's going fast.

I think that the largest negative of not having a local watchdog is the now total lack of government monitoring. They used to have reporters or free-lance hires attending all the municipal government meetings, including school boards and County. That is all gone and the formerly monitored office holders and employees know it.

That is an excellent point, and as we see newspapers slowly die, it will become an ever-growing and truly huge loss for all of us.