#175 — Editorially Speaking
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American daily newspapers are dying in record numbers. Where once these magnificent beasts roamed the plains in great herds, now they have been hunted nearly to extinction by the railroads.
Oh. Wait.
That’s the buffalo. Nonetheless, newspapers really are dying. If your local daily was a guest character on a medical drama, the hunky doctor would be saying reassuring things to the newspaper’s family before telling the gorgeous nurse to have the morgue boys come up the back way so as not to alarm anybody. Which is a shame because the local paper performs the vital service of identifing the dangerous lunatics in your neighborhood.
Don’t believe me? Try this simple test. Pick up any local daily newspaper, turn to the letters to the editor page and read it. Now are you convinced? I thought so.
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Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9z
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Notes:
- Congratulations to the contest winners Tammi, Ian, Richard, Shane & Tim!
- Thanks to Grammar Girl for supporting my book and graciously allowing me to guest write for her podcast. You can find that episode at http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-write-a-complaint-letter.aspx
- You can read my interview on the BeTheStory.com blog at: http://bethestory.com/2009/10/07/interview-with-humorist-kevin-cummings
- You can find Richard’s clever bitstrips comic at: http://www.bitstrips.com/user/64980/read.php?comic_id=336098&subsection=1
- Thanks to the good folks at JTIndie for playing my promo: http://www.jtindie.com/2009/10/episode-77-heavy-heart/ for playing my promo
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It is a sad thing what is happening to the newspaper industry. I worked for a major newspaper in south florida for many years. They tried so hard to get their hands into so many other media fields like tv and radio. They even made a half hearted attempt at providing news over the internet.
The problem is, no one wants to pick up the newsprint edition anymore. The only reason to do that is for the coupons on Sundays. Newspapers have invested billions in equipment to make these newsprint things.
They need to let the paper go… let it itself slide into the background and find a way to provide the news in new, more cost effective ways… Like the i-phone and the kindle.
Well said, Robert. Perhaps the BN Nook will provide the market penetration necessary to drive newspapers to an e-delivery model.