Lindsey Mastis

Are newspapers dying? All of them? Is it a slow death? Haven’t we heard this before?

When television gained popularity, people wondered whether it would kill newspapers. It didn’t. When the Internet gained popularity, people wondered the same. News is now available on cell phones, through RSS feeds , and people can watch their favorite television shows on Hulu , and other on demand sites– some commercial free. As technology grows faster, people turn to their computers, Blackberries , and iPhones for information.

But when there is major news like a terrorist attack, people turn to television. When there is an historic event like the election of Obama , people flock to news stands. Will people still turn to these outlets if and when their phones can support the same type of video and news reports? Had 9/11 happened at a time when people could get live footage on their phones, would they have turned on the television?

The concept of a newspaper is very old. It’s simply the act of recording historic events and distributing it so the public knows what happened. Oh yeah, it’s distributed on paper, and is folded in a certain way, etc. Look at the past. Even when technology wasn’t a threat to newspapers, many governments were. The United State’s first newspaper, “Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick ,” was forced to stop printing after the first issue because Britain didn’t like it. Yet, newspapers eventually prevailed.

People tend to have an obsession with newspapers. There’s an entire website put together by the Newseum that features newspaper front pages from around the world. Remember Aaron Brown’s NewsNight on CNN ? He featured a segment called “Morning Papers,” where viewers could get a sneak peak of the headlines. He did this last, so viewers would have to sit through the whole show to see what the news would be the next day. People love newspapers. Check out this video from Any Rooney of 60 Minutes on CBS :

Rooney has a point. Even if a story breaks on television, people will turn to newspapers for a more in-depth look. People can take newspaper clippings and read, re-read, analyze, and share the facts. They can’t do that with television. Or can they? Someone could TiVo a segment, upload it to their computer, post it on YouTube , and share it before YouTube finds out it’s copywrited material and yanks it off the site. You don’t have those problems with online news sites. Instead of having to find numerous newspapers, cut out clippings, and mail them off to your friends and family, you can simply hit a button, type in an e-mail address, and off the information goes. Not just text, but video, interactive sites, photos– everything. It’s all right there.

The end may actually be near this time for newspapers. There is finally a medium that can replace what newspapers provide. And when the technology becomes even more advanced, television may face the same problem.

But there’s a bright side. The internet takes the skills of newspaper and television staffs and gives an audience the chance to experience a story. Although the paper may die, its reporters, page editors, and graphic artists are still needed. Reporters can share extra information that wouldn’t fit in the 20-inch news hole. Page editors can design an interactive website to highlight each story’s features, and graphic artists can make their graphs and maps slick and detailed. There’s no worry about the loss of quality after being printed 500,000 times.

The same goes with television journalists. Reporters can share extra video and uncut interviews. Photographers can always edit an extended version of a story so their best shots get in, or share their raw tape. Producers will ensure that all the elements are included in a organized manner and can even coordinate with engineers and master control to provide live footage on the web.

So newspapers aren’t dying. Paper is dying. It just so happens that the economy is poor and is forcing the change to happen more rapidly. It’s still a serious situation for journalists. Those who haven’t been laid off from newspapers are under constant stress. And now there’s even more talk of television stations being affected. Typepad has even created a “Journalist Bailout Program ” to help newspaper reporters transition from work in the office to blogging at home. They are offering free blogs with advertising, so journalists can keep the profits.

Whether journalists plan to get involved with the web or not– it’s becoming a matter of survival. For the audience, it’s a matter of convenience and quality. Newspaper and television journalists need to work together to create an exceptional experience for the audience, chalked full of information, photos, video, documents, and a place for reaction and discussion. It’s a scary time for people in the business, but an exciting time for the future of journalism. We truly are experiencing a revolution in the news industry.