I’m 46 years old. Maybe that’s why I still love to read the daily paper – the printed daily paper, not the online version. I’ve found that I read full articles when it’s on paper, and skim them when they’re online. I’ve also found that newspapers (using the Indianapolis Star as my example) tend to have more in-depth coverage, and long-term investigations. These investigations hold our leaders accountable much more than Digg-blurbs and opinion blogs, in my opinion (yes, ironic). And television news only reports what can be told in 30 seconds, which isn’t much.
The Indianapolis Star is reorganizing to try to survive. Other city papers are either folding or discontinuing their print versions. One paper is outsourcing their writing to India, where they plagiarize other news sources and call it “news.” In my opinion, it’s a damned shame. To put it simply, Indiana needs the Indianapolis Star, and, if it fails, I predict a level of political corruption this political-suburb-of-Chicago has never seen. I believe every other city is in the same situation, and we need to do what we can to revive paper-newspapers.
Here is what I do, as one man trying to help. When I read the paper, I also read the ads. If I go to an advertiser, I either bring the ad to give them, or simply tell them I learned about them in the Indy Star. That REALLY helps them know where to spend ad dollars. And that helps the newspaper continue to receive those ad dollars, so they can survive.
I may be crazy and behind the times; I may be putting my head in the sand against the onslought of quickie news; and I just may be old, but I hope paper news stays around for a long time.