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| The Cause and Effect of Newspaper Troubles |
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http://www.paper.com.cn
2009-04-01 |
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The major newspaper obituaries keep piling up these days, from Slate to Vanity Fair and an excellent parting shot from the late John Walter, but what's interesting is that the tone has shifted from "newspapers are in trouble" to "newspapers were always in trouble."
Where the common argument always insisted forces beyond their control - Craigslist, eBay, newfangled mobile intercomputing and whatnot - drove the newspaper industry to its current dismal abyss, it would now seem the papers drove themselves to the brink of ruin by simply operating under false assumptions and self-appointed presumptions. More specifically, could it be that newspapers weren't necessarily doing the wrong thing but simply answering the wrong questions? Think about it:
Were papers important in and of themselves? No, not really. Editorial discretion and decision-making has always played an important role in what gets out, but that was more a function of economic necessity than anything else.
Were the contents of those papers important? Absolutely. City hall investigations, following the money, shining a light on the unlit corners of government, these things were (and always will be) of the utmost significance but those things are not made any more or less valuable by what medium they appear on.
Do newspapers foster and promote and foster democracy? This is the arguable point, but contrary to popular opinion the answer is "no." "Promoting democracy" suggests some kind of call to action, an overthrow of old autocratic regimes and restoring power to the people but, again, for as long as there have been papers in America there has also been a democracy that established itself just fine without a metro editor giving his or her approval. Conversely, they have newspapers in China. And North Korea. And Cuba. You can guess how much newsprint has helped democracy in those countries.
Do newspapers foster and promote the democratic process? Of course they do. When the Sun-Times dedicates an entire section of its website's front page to how awesome Barack Obama is, that promotes the democratic process. When a paper endorses a candidate, that promotes the democratic process. When major publications will sell you commemorative presidential memorabilia, that promotes the democratic process.
To put it another way: taxes, party systems, elections - can those things exist without newspapers? Indeed they can.
So now what?
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