David Sarno writes in his column at the Los Angeles Times why the newspaper should not be saved.
And as much as we cherish the newspaper that arrives on our doorstep every morning, as a medium for delivering news, it loses to the Web in too many ways. At the top of the list is, of course, currency. What you read on front pages is, quite literally, yesterday’s news — while what you see on home-pages is what is happening in the real-time present.
If you’re an environmental type, you’ll know that newspapers are not a green product, either. The Green Press Initiative estimated that in 2006, newsprint consumed 95 million trees, to say nothing of the energy consumed or the pollution generated by printing and vehicle delivery.
There is considerably more to Sarno’s column. Be sure to read it all if you are interested in the future of newspapers.
I don’t agree with Sarno, yet. While the US is overserviced with newspapers, the medium has a place – albeit, quite different to the model in the US today.
Our situation in Australia, as I write here often, is quite different thanks mainly due to the tightly controlled (low cost) distribution network provided by newsagents. Changes in that space and other factors will see conversations in the US reach our shores.