Life After Newspapers

The Washingotn Post today had an op-ed piece about what newspapers will be like in the future if they even survive at all. Michael Kinsley argues that the newspaper industries missed out on a lot of opportunities over the years, such as creating a social networking space. This struggle the newspapers are in now can be blamed partly on the newspapers themselves, along with technical advances like the internet where people all over the world can access the newspaper for free. Nevermind the fact that newspapers on the internet saves millions of trees from being cut down. Unfortunately, for those who love reading your print version of the paper every morning with coffee before work, soon this practice may become a thing of the past.

Kinsley presents a few ideas that could help sustain newspapers and keep them printing for years to come. One of the suggestions presented is that newspapers should become nonprofit organizations. This is much different than the way the newspapers are controlled now-by large corporations that own many different media outlets and/or other industries and are out to make PROFIT. In the future, the newspapers could start charging a fee for people to view the paper over the internet. These are some of the solutions people are bouncing around in efforts to save newspapers from the internet giant. Do we "bail out" the newspapers too? While I think newspapers in print form are important and do help in keeping the public informed, this does not mean that we should be giving billions of more taxpayer money towards saving them. Companies come and go every day, and the same goes for newspapers. The ones that are the most competitive and innovative will survive through this transition from print to the internet...others will not. This is capitalism!

Even if the newspapers go under, there will still be news, and people will want to know the news. I welcome this change from print to online media, as it will bring about innovation in the way we get our news.