Newspapers
Newspapers in a time of change
By Newton N. Minow - Chicago Tribune Commentary Published December 10, 2006
Nearly 220 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "... were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." Jefferson would be dismayed if he learned about what happened in a class taught last year by my daughter, Martha, at Harvard Law School. Martha had invited a former student, Cliff Sloan, to lecture to her class. Sloan, who is publisher of Slate, an online journal, asked the students to raise their hands if they read a print newspaper every day. Not one hand went up. When he asked how they kept informed, they all had the same answer: We get our news online. Are they reading Yahoo News? Google News? Blogs? If you ask online readers what sources they use, they often just say "The Internet." Are they getting only headlines without in-depth reporting? This is disappointing to me because I believe newspapers are essential to democracy. My family has a history with Chicago newspapers going back 60 years. Chicago, the city of "The Front Page" had seven newspapers before World War II. In 1947, my father-in-law, Salem Baskin, persuaded Marshall Field of the Chicago Sun and Richard Finnegan of the Chicago Times to combine their separate papers into the Chicago Sun-Times. Some 30 years later I was privileged to serve on the board of Field Enterprises, which owned the Sun-Times; later I was privileged to serve on the board of Tribune Co. I treasure newspapers as one of life's true necessities. But these days, many readers ask: Are newspapers an endangered species?I think the answer is no. Newspapers for the last 500 years have survived many technological revolutions. Radio, television, cable and satellites have not displaced newspapers. I do not think the Internet will make newspapers fade away because newspapers are in the process of adapting and changing in the new digital world. There will always be a need--and a market--for credible, trustworthy information and opinions. Lively writing and fair reporting will always be valued. But newspaper boards are in a panic today because print newspaper classified advertising is declining faster than you can say "Craigslist." What is missing thus far is a successful economic model for newspapers to offer their unique products through the Internet. That model will evolve because newspapers create and offer essential service to their communities and to the nation.One of the best mission statements for newspapers was written long ago by Finley Peter Dunne (under the name of Mr. Dooley): "The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." We count on newspapers to keep a skeptical, not a cynical, eye on our public officials and institutions. We always need to know more about politicians, our business leaders, our religious leaders, our artists, our entertainers, our movie stars, our athletes, our writers, our teachers--everyone. Bloggers offer to play a role in this arena, but work without the professional standards of a skilled newspaper staff . This year, the Pew Research Center found that 50 million Americans go to the Internet for news every day, almost twice the number that did so four years ago. Four years from now, I would not be surprised if instead of 50 million Americans on the Internet, the number has doubled again. What will they be reading? If newspapers adapt creatively, they will be reading the newspaper.Newspapers mean home to the reader. My wife and I saw this when we visited Rachel, our 20-year-old granddaughter, who is a student at Reed College in Portland, Ore. At Reed, she showed us how she had set her computer home page to her hometown newspaper, The Washington Post, which she reads every day. She keeps in better touch with her hometown community 2,800 miles away than any previous generation of college kids ever could. That is why the long-term future of newspapers is bright, even though my generation still prefers newsprint.Holding a newspaper, my wife of 57 years looked at our granddaughter's computer and said, "There will never be an adequate replacement for holding what I read in my hands. Never." That's why newspapers and their readers of different generations are not an endangered species. Newspapers are undergoing needed change but remain the glue that keeps our communities and our nation together. They need to stick around. Forever.
Right now I am reading my Sunday Chicago Tribune. I agree and I treasure newspapers as one of life's true necessities.
By Newton N. Minow - Chicago Tribune Commentary Published December 10, 2006
Nearly 220 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "... were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." Jefferson would be dismayed if he learned about what happened in a class taught last year by my daughter, Martha, at Harvard Law School. Martha had invited a former student, Cliff Sloan, to lecture to her class. Sloan, who is publisher of Slate, an online journal, asked the students to raise their hands if they read a print newspaper every day. Not one hand went up. When he asked how they kept informed, they all had the same answer: We get our news online. Are they reading Yahoo News? Google News? Blogs? If you ask online readers what sources they use, they often just say "The Internet." Are they getting only headlines without in-depth reporting? This is disappointing to me because I believe newspapers are essential to democracy. My family has a history with Chicago newspapers going back 60 years. Chicago, the city of "The Front Page" had seven newspapers before World War II. In 1947, my father-in-law, Salem Baskin, persuaded Marshall Field of the Chicago Sun and Richard Finnegan of the Chicago Times to combine their separate papers into the Chicago Sun-Times. Some 30 years later I was privileged to serve on the board of Field Enterprises, which owned the Sun-Times; later I was privileged to serve on the board of Tribune Co. I treasure newspapers as one of life's true necessities. But these days, many readers ask: Are newspapers an endangered species?I think the answer is no. Newspapers for the last 500 years have survived many technological revolutions. Radio, television, cable and satellites have not displaced newspapers. I do not think the Internet will make newspapers fade away because newspapers are in the process of adapting and changing in the new digital world. There will always be a need--and a market--for credible, trustworthy information and opinions. Lively writing and fair reporting will always be valued. But newspaper boards are in a panic today because print newspaper classified advertising is declining faster than you can say "Craigslist." What is missing thus far is a successful economic model for newspapers to offer their unique products through the Internet. That model will evolve because newspapers create and offer essential service to their communities and to the nation.One of the best mission statements for newspapers was written long ago by Finley Peter Dunne (under the name of Mr. Dooley): "The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." We count on newspapers to keep a skeptical, not a cynical, eye on our public officials and institutions. We always need to know more about politicians, our business leaders, our religious leaders, our artists, our entertainers, our movie stars, our athletes, our writers, our teachers--everyone. Bloggers offer to play a role in this arena, but work without the professional standards of a skilled newspaper staff . This year, the Pew Research Center found that 50 million Americans go to the Internet for news every day, almost twice the number that did so four years ago. Four years from now, I would not be surprised if instead of 50 million Americans on the Internet, the number has doubled again. What will they be reading? If newspapers adapt creatively, they will be reading the newspaper.Newspapers mean home to the reader. My wife and I saw this when we visited Rachel, our 20-year-old granddaughter, who is a student at Reed College in Portland, Ore. At Reed, she showed us how she had set her computer home page to her hometown newspaper, The Washington Post, which she reads every day. She keeps in better touch with her hometown community 2,800 miles away than any previous generation of college kids ever could. That is why the long-term future of newspapers is bright, even though my generation still prefers newsprint.Holding a newspaper, my wife of 57 years looked at our granddaughter's computer and said, "There will never be an adequate replacement for holding what I read in my hands. Never." That's why newspapers and their readers of different generations are not an endangered species. Newspapers are undergoing needed change but remain the glue that keeps our communities and our nation together. They need to stick around. Forever.
Right now I am reading my Sunday Chicago Tribune. I agree and I treasure newspapers as one of life's true necessities.
posted by MaximumBob | 12:30 PM
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