Our View: Newspapers are still relevant
Whether you’re reading this at the kitchen table, on the train, or on your computer or iPhone, we wanted to remind you that this week marks National Newspaper Week.
You might hear people say that newspapers are dead. And if the flavor-of-the-month talk radio host says it, it must be true. Newspapers aren’t dead, and the ones that adapt – just like businesses in other industries – won’t be dead anytime soon.
What newspapers are doing is changing. That paper in your driveway is something we’re proud of, but it’s only part of what we do. Local news now breaks on our Web site, in your e-mail inbox, or even in a text message or Twitter application on your phone.
We’re still doing what we’ve always done, just faster and in more formats. If you want to know what’s going with your school district, city hall, high school sports teams, what local officials and people are talking about, what’s happening in the criminal courts and with crime in your neighborhood, newspapers are the best and consistently reliable source of information in town.
Sure, the local radio stations will read you the news, often after they read it in the newspaper. A lone blogger here and there can rerun a press release or give you occasional items through their own idiosyncratic point of view.
Newspapers have faced challenges, along with many other industries, through a difficult economy. The industry also has its own unique struggles, but those who do it well and adapt as news information companies will be around for decades to come – possibly in formats not even imaginable today.
We’ll still be here keeping the government on its toes and giving voice to the voiceless – even those whose primary fascination is telling us we’re no longer relevant as they read and comment each day.
