Early Retirement Blog

You Lie You Die

Newspapers across the country are folding, going out of business, laying off their employees.  The world has changed, their business model has not, and they have no clue what to do or how to survive.

Newspapers have forgotten that people buy newspapers for the news not the paper.  The book publishing industry is in the same situation, freaking out over the Amazon Kindle, like papers did over the Huffingtonpost and other blogs.

Newspapers and book publishers  both don’t seem to understand that both literally, and figuratively, paper is dead.   Book publishers still have time to adapt, for newspapers though, their day has come.

Death came surprisingly slowly for newspapers.   The housing boom helped newspapers delay their inevitable demise, with colorful thick home sections, auto advertising, home furnishing ads, creating increased revenue despite shrinking readership.  The collapse of the economy, and with it the collapse of ad revenue, is the nail in newspaper’s coffin.

What must not be allowed to perish is journalism.  Even though the profession has a deservedly tarnished reputation, unfortunately like the law, it plays a critical part in our democracy.  Journalism when done right, speaks for the people not the powerful, it keeps politicians honest and gamblers out of sports, it creates a connection to the community and the world.

Newspapers in order to survive, are going to have to go internet only, and only focus on the local community.   Their exists the opportunity for local community bloggers, to join together and become citizen journalists, creating a new news source to replace obsolete newspapers.   Creating a local news blog is a great idea for retirees and the un-employed, to create a sense of community, and a way to help others and themselves.

People want and need news, if going forward newspapers no longer exist, the vacuum will be filled by bloggers. By Bloggers who know nothing about journalism, but make up for ignorance with honesty, and who at least are not killing trees unnecessarily.

Update: Here is an example of why we need journalism, Claire Suddath, recently wrote a great article for Time Magazine titled “Obama’s Middle-Class Task Force Has No Middle Class.”   About how no one on the Obama team, designated to deal with the problems facing the middle-class, qualifies to be a member of the middle-class – they’re all too rich and well paid!

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