Death of a Newspaper

[RayPA]

nice shot. tells a story of a very common occurrence these days. It is odd though; these smaller papers (exactly the type that you describe) are the ones that seem to be surviving in my area, while the big boys go belly up.

 

[DRabbit]

Ahh, okay - looked like something in Middle Island.

I know EXACTLY where you're talking about... I took some photos over there too (but no real keepers) -- by the dog park, right?

 

[tbarker13]

There's a huge appetite out there for something a lot of people call news, whether it is or not. But, I'll need to be convinced that there has ever been a large appetite for in-depth hard news. Otherwise, every newspaper would look like the front section of the New York Times, and the networks could sell ads to sustain two-hour newscasts and would remove their news divisions from the control of the entertainment divisions.

That is certainly one of the big problems. Under the now-obsolete model, a small pool of information providers (a couple newspapers, tv and radio stations in a city) would provide a mix of fun and news. Sort of like dinner time when you were young. You get dessert, but only after eating your vegetables.

That's all changed today. With so many information outlets, people can skip the nutritional stuff and go straight to the junk. I see this play out daily on my paper's Web site, where we can track what stories are getting clicks.
It is not uncommon for short, pointless features (flip flops are bad for your feet) to get far more reader attention than the meatier pieces about political corruption and current events.

This is not a good time for anyone who really wants to know what's happening in their community and the world around them. And more than likely, it's just going to get worse.