We are under no delusion that newspaper is fading out. Whatever things to be done, it‘s feels pretty much as a last stand to prolong the inevitable. Majority of print papers rely on advertisers, and when advertisers leave, so does the main source of income.
Either reinvent and supplement the loss of revenue, or face the imminent closure.
It‘s not the quality of the news. It‘s purely market forces at work. The technology shift in the way news are consumed. Journalists and editors are no way directly responsible for this, but they are on the receiving end of this declining movement. Many of them are in this business for a long time and it‘s dreading to think what they are going to do next. Aspiring young journalists habouring dreams may have come on at the wrong time. Major papers are going to consolidate, combine readership and resources.
The biggest press in my area has already seen it coming, and the push is to asborb existing paper subscribers into digital ones or risk losing them altogether. People are always hungry for news, but the place we read them has changed. Independant publishing are leading the charge. Giving readers what they want, quality content, comfortable design, little to no ads. Even if there‘s ads, readers accept if it‘s relevant to them. These are what‘s happening to the magazine industry. Can we reapply this concept to the newspaper industry?
Good journalists will always find work. They will continue to produce articles that interest readers and break news that awe us. It‘s just that the print medium we are so used to is an ailing form now. I reckon it will stay relevant for a few more decades at least, until the future generations who grow up reading purely on digital platform finish it off.