Having spent more than 15 years as a reporter, I have a special affection for newspapers – and I’m talking about the traditional kind that you read on the couch or on the way to work that leave your fingers stained with ink.
But as someone who is also digitally immersed, I realize newspapers – the paper variety – are a dying entity – and the newspaper business is struggling to re-invent itself amid declining revenue and circulation.
The fundamental problem is fewer people are reading newspapers, even though the Web sites operated by newspapers are popular but nowhere near as profitable.
Sadly, you can now count me as another person reading one less (paper) newspaper. After thinking about it for awhile, I’m canceling the subscription for one of Toronto’s daily newspapers.
The problem is the newspaper is delivered every day but often never read before it hits the recycling bin. In comparison with the interactivity of reading content online (links, video, search, etc.), reading a newspaper has become less inspiring and interesting.
Even the tech coverage comes across as dated given it’s published the day after something happens, and often doesn’t contain the insight that blogs and Web sites provide.
Although I’m canceling one subscription, I’m not walking away from newspapers altogether. Digging into a good sports section and doing the crossword remain two reasons why newspapers are still part of my media landscape. And the New York Times on Sunday continues to be one of the best reads around.
Another consideration is that while I may be reading fewer newspapers, my consumption of content continues to be more than healthy. Using new tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed as ways to discover new content, I’m probably reading more than ever.
The reality, however, is less of that content is coming from newspapers.
Below is a graph showing online traffic for the New York Times, USA Today and the Washington Post.
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