Newspapers No More

Has online news replaced traditional newspapers, and Why?

Over the past years, the distribution of newspapers has declined, and continues to do so as I blog.  This decline has obviously caused many to lose jobs, and this loss contributes in the pushing of our economy, causing it to recede ever more into a black abyss.

 

Many people conversely compare the fall in newspaper sales to the rise of online news.  The Internet is becoming ever easier to access and is basically free, so many people have switched from print news to an online source. This can be seen in a graph that depicts newspaper circulation over the last two decades.  The only newspaper included whose circulation eventually increases over time is The Wall Street Journal’s, but this is because they started counting online subscribers in 2003.

Although, the decline in newspaper sales is obviously related to the rise of online news, I do not feel that its existence is the only reason for the decline, but also the style of reporting done online.  Because online news is updated at a much faster rate than printed news, and because websites want viewers to stay on their site so that companies pay to advertise, the reporting is often less dense than printed news.  This makes it much easier to read.  USA Today, a printed news source uses a similar style of reporting; they skim the surface of the story, but do not give it much depth.  Surprise, surprise, USA Today is the nations top-selling newspaper.

 

This shows that the decline is not to be blamed solely on the existence of online news, but rather on the difference in reporting styles between major newspaper companies and online news sources, and how online sources use a less in-depth style of writing which appeals more to the public.  Unfortunately, this also means it should be partially blamed on the lack of attention, and patience given by the public when reading printed news.