Throwing red meat at Conspiracy Theorists – Newspapers vs. digital media edition
January 9, 2009 by William K. Wolfrum
While I’m no fan of Alex Jones and his ilk, I do like the fact that he’s able to speak freely and easily via the Internet. So to throw some red meat at the Conspiracists out there, and possibly give Jones another angle to profit from, this theory just struck me:
Newspapers have been getting more and more monopolized over the years (see: Murdoch, Rupert). They have also seen a drop in both popularity and profitability, with the Internet being a main culprit. And some, like Atrios, see the Internet as a happy mistake that took flight before governments could contain it.
So my theory is thus: Print newspapers will eventually go the way of the dinosaurs. And when that happens, the grand, secretive, illuminati – or whatever – will shut down the Internet. And with all news services having been disappeared, the bad guys will win and enslave us all – or whatever.
I can’t say I believe this, but someone will, I’m sure. Here’s hoping it gains some momentum. For some real debate over the future of newspapers, take a look at Diane Tucker’s latest Huffington Post entry – Could Twitter Have Saved The New York Times?
–WKW
Newspapers have benefits far beyond that of a laptop or smart phone. For one thing, you can’t roll up a laptop and swat a fly with it. And when nature calls, carrying a laptop or a blackberry with you entails certain risks. I lost my blackberry in an unfortunate incident several months ago. (Insert crude comment about the term ‘blackberry’ here).
And if you run out of TP? Well, don’t look for your Amazon Kindle to be much help.
Is speed the bottom line, Bill? I love a leisurely carriage ride through Central Park as much as the next girl, but if I have to get to the CNN studios on time, I take a cab, regardless of what cars do to the environment.
Printing presses can’t move as fast as the internet. But what do we lose?
I’ll take accuracy and research over speed any time. Agenda Journalism is the name of the game for mush of the MSM these days. How many stories have we seen over the past decade where the only source was an “Unnamed Administration Official.”
I expect Obama to use the media in much the same way the Bush Admin has. And why shouldn’t they? If the media allows themselves to be used as tools, why not use them?
aka, “Sources close to the administration”.
What I like is when anchors or reporters say “Some are saying” and then editorialize and speculate for half an hour.
It’s as if they must cue themselves first, as if we haven’t noticed long ago there is no substance to most of what they are saying, as if we are all in a big charade pretending that “news” isn’t anything anymore except casual entertainment. As if.
Whenever I read about newspapers/music companies/etc complaining about the obstacles that “technology” has placed in their path, I’m reminded of an article I read around the time the UnaBomber was caught, pointing out that all of his infamous anti-technology manifestos were *typed* (as in, produced on what, to a previous generation, was one of history’s great technological advantages).
The great problem that I see with the down fall of the of-maligned “MSM” (in addition to the WKW conspiracy supposition that caused me to stop breathing for a few seconds there) is that, as Ms. Tucker noted in her article, losing the great papers also means losing structure that has allowed so many great reporters to put in the time, make the connections, and connect the proverbial dots without which we may have missed so many stories. There will always be eyes on the Oval Office — but when the major news organizations disappear, will there still be people who know to check the police blotter for 3rd-rate break-ins in nearby hotels?
true dat.
[...] Relating to the recent post here and Diane Tucker’s recent post at The Huffington Post about the decline of print newspapers, I just saw via Paul Oberjuerge’s blog that two very talented sportswriters were let go by the Los Angeles News Group – Steve Dilbeck and Doug Padilla. [...]