Our Cultural Dependence on the Internet and News

The economy and the continuous advancing in technology as a whole has set up positive and negative aspects to people about news and how it is presented to its viewers. In terms of 'The Demise of the Newspaper,' I believe there to be two very strong opposing sides to this story; one side in regards to the people who work for the newspaper industry. This could also include their families. The opposing side of this topic could be a couple different groups of people; people who believe in environmental protection or could also include people who work for the industry regarding the Internet. It now comes down knowledge and credibility of the sources one would read from.

To write in the newspaper, people must be hired and in most cases these people must have an experienced educational background, indicating they have gone through the procedures of ethics in the media. Furthermore, these people know where to find sources that are most acknowledging of the topic being portrayed. On the contrast, Internet information could potentially be unreliable because the lack of knowledge about who and where there information and sources are coming from. Internet, however, has been a very useful tool for convenience, not only in time, but also in resources:

· News on the Internet does not use paper saving beyond millions of trees every year.

The newspaper has been a cultural necessity, but I believe that the Internet is becoming a far more necessary and convenient way to check local news as well as universal news.

The Decline of Newspapers

Newspapers on a Steady Decline

In my opinion, it is a shame to see the popularity of print newspapers fall. Nothing is more relaxing than sitting outside somewhere warm with a cool drink and catching up on the sports scores around the nation from last night. Although the decrease is unfortunate, I can definitely understand it. The nice thing about newspapers are that you can roll or fold them up, stick them in your pocket or backpack and take them wherever you go. These days, it is our iPods, iPhones, laptops, and cell phones that we stick in our pockets or backpacks to keep us updated on the news.

Lets face it, a newspaper cannot text message, email, or make calls, so why would you carry around such a one dimensional item? Especially when you already have your blackberry or iPhone on you, and the news is just one button or tap away. This is the problem that newspapers all over the nation are having. They are seeing their print sales decline and their online websites flourish. This is a problem for the people who do not have access to the technology that others have, and they rely on that newspaper on their doorstep every morning.

But times are changing, news on the Internet is so much more quicker than print news. The Rocky Mountain News located in Denver, Colorado, felt that first hand. They never found a buyer willing to invest in their company, so they had to shut down after 150 years on February 27, 2009.

Internet news is so fast that a car accident can happen at 1:30 and at 1:35 you could be reading about it on a news site.If you solely relied on print newspaper, you would have to wait until tomorrow mornings paper to find out what had happened. Along with the quickness of news online, you do sometimes run into an issue of credibility and accuracy. To avoid them, try and find a trusted news site that is very well known, or follow only one news site so you become comfortable and build a trust with that site. I hope that the print newspaper can make a triumphant return, but also have the Internet news right by its side.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/business/media/28paper.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/

Going Digital May Be Better

After reading a few articles on the demise of the newspaper, it has dawned on me that it may be a positive influence on journalism. The world wide web is enormous, and has a lot to offer to the news world. By having a plethora of online news sources, competition regarding more stylistic writing may occur. We should begin to see better writing.

From site to site, news flourishes. The reason a viewer returns to a given site is to follow up on more recent news. Whether it be sports, politics, or music, people viewing the web want to be informed. Journalism will see more talent in writing because of the web's growing news trend. Someone who reads the Journal Sentinel newspaper is nearly forced to read the same writers weekly. Normally, there will be at least one writer in a newspaper that a reader will grow to hate. The reader only has the option of turning the page, or getting a different paper. However, online journalism offers the viewer a larger spectrum of choice. With so many different news sources online, a reader is one click away from another competing site.

Online allows more availability to the reader. Click by click, the reader gets to choose whether or not a site is worthy or not. This trend will have writers on their toes. If writers know that readers can leave their article within seconds, it may cause them to write a little more sensible. Journalists will not be able to be as arrogant as they may be in a newspaper.

With millions of news outlets available on the web, readers can get what they want. Online writers will now work harder and produce better material in order to keep viewers interested. The demise of the newspaper may not be such a bad thing after all. What about jobs you ask? Once the trend continues to grow online, the news sources will be at a steady increase and jobs will continue to grow. More reporters and writers, means more jobs.

Welcome

Hello Media Writers,
Welcome to the blog for JMC 201 Section 813. This is a place for us to discuss the different issues and perspectives surrounding the demise of the newspaper.

We'll go over the assignment in lab this week.

See you soon!
Laura