 Re: Jay Mariotti resigns
I'm old, but I guess I'm something of a hybrid. I still subscribe to the Cincinnati Enquirer, and read it in its traditional format. I like the portability of a printed newspaper, and find it much more user-friendly than their cincinnati.com website.
That said, I truly appreciate the ability to read distant newspapers online, esp those that cover wrestling well, such as the Iowa City Press-Citizen and Des Moines Register, and student papers at the wrestling powers (The O'Colly, etc)
Why are traditional newspapers dying? I think it's a perfect storm of factors: Younger consumers who are very comfortable getting their news online, and didn't grow up with a tradition of reading a printed newspaper. Increased prices for newsprint and ink. Skyrocketing delivery costs. Plunging ad revenues.* Consolidation of media control. And, a very different mindset of those who own newspapers. Gone are the days of the "benevolent" family that ran a paper as a mission to inform their neighbors, profit be damned... now it's "What can we do to boost stock price? Increase revenue?" To achieve that goal, now it's about lowering costs, using more material from other sources (more wire service copy, more "synergistic relationships" with local TV stations, more corporate press releases presented as news), getting rid of specialized beat writers in favor of generalists who write about whatever today's assignment is.
As someone with a journalism degree from one of the nation's great programs, it really saddens me. But... it's happening.
Mark
*Think about how many local department stores there once were in your city, each placing multiple ads in the paper every day. In Cincinnati, we once had four. Now we have one... and it's Macy's. My first job was writing ads in a Cleveland store. We knew that we were one of the "major engines" that supported the Plain Dealer and the Press. Well, May Company is gone, and the Press folded.
__________________
Peace www.RevWrestling.com Those who are ignorant of wrestling history are doomed... | 
Related Tags:
Related Videos:
Linear Mode
