It’s not the Internet that’s killing newspapers.
In an article in Mother Jones, Eric Klinenberg argues that it isn’t the internet that is killing print newspapers, it’s the fact that newspapers are shifting their focus away from being a public service to being just another profit-making corporation that slashes jobs at the slightest hint of smaller profit: Breaking the News:
Fewer than 300 of the nation’s 1,500 daily papers are still independently owned, and more than half of all markets are dominated by a single paper. The number of newspaper employees has dropped nearly 20 percent since 1990. Hardly a week goes by without another pundit lamenting the demise of the great American newspaper.
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Klinenberg is very smart, but given the liberties he takes in latest book, overlooking clear facts, to progress his theory of media consolidation, I would carefully review the facts here.
http://www.slate.com/id/2157395
http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042081.php
Not to mention the affect that sites like craigslist are having on newspapers revenue through classifieds so I wouldn’t downplay how online media has affected newspapers and broadcasters. FYI, I work with the NAB in DC.
Chris,
I honestly know nothing about Klinenberg, I just found the article fascinating, and as a newspaper journalist myself, I agreed with many of his points. Thanks for your input.