Why Newspapers are Important

Why is this bad?

Some could argue that the death of newspapers is no big deal. It’s just a natural technological and business trend. Again, this is true to some extent.

Some newspaper editors and publishers will argue that newspapers must not be allowed to die because newspapers are vital to their communities, that newspapers help build a sense of community. Frankly, that’s a bunch of bull and just public relations. These people are covering for their own jobs, not that that’s not understandable. Once upon a time, newspapers were barometers for their communities, but those days are long gone with the advent of the World Wide Web. Community is everywhere now, not just one particular place (with some exceptions, mostly in remote areas and/or very small towns).

Many of the features once provided by newspapers are now being covered faster and more conveniently by other media, mainly through the Internet. But there is still one very important task that newspapers used to do regularly, something that should be important to society at large.

Coverage

I’m not just talking about those long, 10-piece series articles with lots of photographs that newspapers love so much and often for which they win awards. Some of those are nice. Some of them are boring. But that’s not what I’m specifically talking about here.

I’m talking about newspapers spending the time, money and other resources to fully cover and investigate the stories that need to be covered, such as stories about corruption, war, injustices, etc.

Sure, television does this to some extent. But you only get a whole 60 seconds of coverage. Then they’re off to the next story about a cute puppy or something (not that I have anything against puppies … I’m a dog lover myself).

Sure, the Internet provides news for free from all over the world. But much of that is written or photographed by people who are not only inexperienced, but who often have an agenda of their own.

But even taking television and the Internet into consideration, the two of those combined do not have (or will not spend) the proper resources needed for complete, proper coverage of major news stories.

One could argue that newspapers also no longer spend those resources. But I’d argue back that it’s only because newspapers no longer have the resources, in finances or people, to do their job properly all the time. Believe me, if newspapers still had those resources, they would still be doing the job.

Just an example

About 20 years ago, I started my first newspapers job at a small daily in southern Ohio. Circulation was something like 16,000 in a town of about 21,000 people. At this tiny little newspaper, we sent a photographer off to cover the Gulf War, to keep in touch with troops from our region. The newspaper paid for everything. Travel expenses, hotel rooms, etc. It was all covered.

That would never happen today.

A couple of years ago, I was working for a larger newspaper with a circulation of about 150,000 in a city of about 300,000 people. There was another war in Iraq going on. The newspaper sent a reporter. But this time this much larger newspaper could not afford to pay all the reporter’s expenses. The newspaper did pay some, but grants were also sought, and the reporter had to chip in herself.

In closing

Despite what many of us who were in the industry might wish, I don’t believe newspapers will be missed. The public no longer needs newspapers for the most part, so there is nothing for them to miss.

That being said, I believe the public is missing out on the true importance of what newspapers used to accomplish. I’m sorry, but your local TV station isn’t going to send a reporter to a war to get indepth coverage of what’s going on there, and that local blogger you like to check out a couple of times a week can’t afford to do such. And even if an Internet or TV news source did send someone to cover something important, they’re not going to take the time or utilize their resources to report earnestly. It’s not in their blood. It’s not how they’re made. It’s not how those “systems” work. They are fine for what they are, but the days of real news gathering are going, possibly forever.