The Death Watch for the American Newspaper: Economics Doom Print. It's that Simple.
THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG
By Mark Karlin
To those, like me, who feel comfortable reading through a print newspaper or two in the morning, start the prayer for the dead. It's over.
Whatever one thinks about the corporate mainstream media -- and BuzzFlash has been one of its fiercest progressive critics -- the newspaper has been an American institution that will be missed. But make no mistake about it, the very free market system that the corporate print media has been a shill for over the past decades doom it to extinction.
Quite simply, the economic costs of news print, production and distribution of a hand-held paper are unsustainable in an age of instant digital transmission of information, articles, photos, and more. Except for a relatively small number of smaller niche papers (ironically primarily in rural areas where the costs are much lower), the ride will soon be over.
That doesn't mean the end of journalists. They will reform into outlets that will transmit to the new generation of Amazon Kindle-type devices that will start to rapidly drop in price as manufacturers proliferate. Within a couple of years, most Americans will get their real time news on devices that look like thin photo frames or the Internet. No American media conglomerate can carry the high cost of printing and distributing a newspaper (often in which the news is up to 24 hours behind electronic transmission) for much longer.
The downward spiral is accelerating: cut staffs, reduced subscriptions, less advertising at a lower price for the ads due to reduced subscriptions. Not to mention the recession or the shift of advertising dollars away from newspapers to the Internet.
It is not economically viable to have a newspaper delivered to your door (with all the cost associated with that act) when you can sit down at your computer and get the same information in real time with minimal costs for electronic transmission of the same data.
Nostalgic we may be for the times when we read the paper with a morning cup of coffee or on the train, but it is nostalgia that we will carry with us -- not the newspaper. Because they are economically as obsolete as stage coaches as far as printed editions.
What concerns me is how this will further widen the digital divide in the nation. The corporate press -- for all its failings in "framing" issues to the center right to benefit corporate interests -- produced newspapers that were accessible to the working person: cab drivers, dish washers, waitresses, cashiers, etc. Not many of these people will be able to afford the new digital "readers" in the short term, nor do their jobs necessarily lend themselves to grabbing a peak at an etch-a-scetch looking device during breaks.
For some time to come, as newspapers fold one by one, the more well off will have access to the printed word on the Internet and on digital readers; the working class will, as is often the case, be left in the dark, except for the bleak, distorted, mcnugget news on television and the radio (with some rare exceptions).
But like it or not, that is the future we are facing. This is no progressive-caused downfall of the corporate newspaper business -- largely owned by huge media conglomerates. It is the economic efficiencies of new technologies that make printing and distribution of a hand-held newspaper obsolete because it is a drag on the bottom line that is unsustainable to shareholders.
But for democracy, it will be a challenge indeed as the better educated and more affluent -- at least in the short term -- acquire a stranglehold on the written word.
THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG
»
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash.com
BuzzFlash: Editorials | Interviews | News Analysis | Alerts | Perspectives | Radio Ads | Reviews: Books, Movies, Music | Television | Books, DVDs, CDs, Hats, T-shirts
Community: BuzzFlash Mailbag | Reader and Guest Contributions | News Releases
Columns: Wings of Justice | GOP Hypocrite of the Week | Last Chance Democracy Cafe | Libby Defense Fund | Jeffrey Feldman's Frameshop | The Daily Buzz | Independent Thinker of the Month | World Media Watch | Blue State Jukebox | Verse-Case Scenario | Ms. Smith Goes to Washington | Caption This
Columnists: P.M. Carpenter | David Lindorff | Barbara's Daily Buzz | Ann Davidow | Thom Hartmann | Steven C. Day | Steven Jonas | Tony Peyser | Shirley Smith
Cartoonists: Kirk Anderson | Steve Bradenton | Tony Peyser | Andrew Wahl
Poets: Tony Peyser
Other: About | Frequently Asked Questions | Headlines | Search BuzzFlash | Put BuzzFlash Headlines on Your Web Site | Get BuzzFlash Alerts | Contact | Home
Support Independent Media: Click Here to See How
Unless otherwise noted, all original content
and headlines are © BuzzFlash.
Contact BuzzFlash for reprint rights.
General Disclaimer: Guest and Reader Contributions, News Releases and Mailbag Letters posted on BuzzFlash are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BuzzFlash or its editors.
good, We are a Chinese
good, We are a Chinese supplier, we provide the best bag bag and clothes, ghd Moncler clothing P90x ghd Moncler Jackets Men Moncler Jackets Women
dancao wholesale golf
Last weekend at a rally in
Last weekend at a rally in support for President Karzai's reelection campaign, about 1,500 women attended. The consequences to come from family or insurgents was something that took a back seat for some women who wanted badly to be a part of the electoral process. iyinet frmtr trkygnclr webmaster seo yar??mas? | iyinet frmtr trkygnclr webmaster seo yar??mas? | iyinet frmtr trkygnclr webmaster seo yar??mas? | iyinet frmtr trkygnclr webmaster seo yar??mas? | iyinet frmtr trkygnclr webmaster seo yar??mas? | zay?flama lida fx15 ve biber hap? zlfvbh | zay?flama lida fx15 ve biber hap? zlfvbh | burmeh yaza lida fx15 biber hap? ile formda girin Other women said they didn't know why they were there, or were told to be there by family and community members.
cartier jewelry
P90x workout : weblog p90x
P90x workout : weblog p90x workout p90x workout in many of the product, the rosetta stone spanish is one of the most popular, the reason is very. Fitness P90x Reviews dvd insanity workouts ,beachbody p90x,rosetta stone p90x workout dvd insanity workout dvd rosetta stone brazil butt P90x workout lift fitness dvdsrosetta stone language level insanity set with audio insanity workout companion us.
MuratCan
The story comes with a young man.chat siteleriHe comes from a small town.chatHe goes to the prosperous city New York.güzel sözler He is ambitious to own a big house,yonja a luxurious car. He has the confidence that one daysohbet/adana sohbet/netlog sohbetnetlog his dream will come true. He imagines the daykizlarla sohbet/kizlarla chat/bedava sohbet sohbet etmirc indir/mirc indir sohpet He tries hischat sohbet | sohbet chat best to. One day,flip chatchat roulettechat roulet his entire dream comes true. He comes back home.He picksdini sohbet/ islami sohbet up his wife to the big city. He was invited to the party.muhabbetsohbet He brings his wife to take part in the partyHis workmates were disappointed for hisseviyeli sohbet old wife.His wife was also very sad thatgüncel haberler she wantchat sohbet | sohbet chat to go back to the town.Chat/sohbet He knows that today hesohbet odalari owns so much fortunate is from his tender andchat kind wife from many aspects. The reason why she looks old is because of him. He do not want his wife go back. He wants her live with him together. He want her suffer so much miserable life as before. While, he was so handsome is totally different from his wife. He wonders chat siteleriislami sohbetsohbet odalariand considers one day after one day. Soon, the day is drawing near. iyinet frmtr trkygnclr webmaster seo yarismasiHe doesn’t know what he could do to leave his wife. Suddenly, an ideaforumforum siteleri toplist eklecomes into mind.He goes to the .the price of the jewelry, then he puts his money film izle - dizi izle - mp3 indir -mp3 dinle - dizi izleyabanci dizi - lig tv izle on the counter with the twice price.burmeh yaza lida fx15 biber hapi ile formda girin//zayiflama lida fx15 ve biber hapi zlfvbh/travesti/zayiflama lida fx15 ve biber hapi zlfvbh
chanel bags
If you appetence to go big time and achieve big money fast and easy, afresh you should get abounding Miu Miu bags. Rather than get 18-carat online autograph that would be abounding at an absonant price, Miu Miu Handbags online will crop bigger address margins and achieve academy profits. But afore you exhausted into the abounding Miu Miu bag sale supplier.
Replica Handbags are precise copies of the original brand Handbags, eg:LV Handbags of creativity is endless, LV 2010 is bound to make your mood, enjoying to spend a vacation.It is expected that by 2015 the growing middle class and the balenciaga handbags sale rich will make China the largest consumer.Penelope accessorized a beautiful outfit by Prada bags and Prada handbag Wyeth Designs with a coordinating beige chanel Classic flap handbag with gold hardware and chanel bags are all very unique and luxury .one of the world's most famous design handbags brand and more at the cheapest prices is the Marc Jacobs Medium.Gucci is the leading name in luxury and style. With its outstanding quality, exceptional beauty, and the finest Italian craftsmanship, Gucci bags offers you only the best of the best. ... so even connoisseurs can't make the differences between replicas and real ones.they are recognized as masterpieces of art all over the world. Our Replica Handbags can give you the same quality for better price.
Mulberry Handbags ia a famous UK-based design for its creative and quality leather products.Mulberry Roxanne is famous for its uniting style and sophistication,stand out of greatest detailing. Also Mulberry Elgin have set new trend and become much desired objects to possess. So what are you waiting for?!
We have smart and stylish.
We have smart and stylish. nike dunks are turning heads that you’ll wear them past party places. It’s variety of louis vuitton bags colors, top notch fabric, and the impressive leather pieces, thenike dunks are standard. You can attire the nike dunks with a louis vuitton bags, a trouser or a short
And What of the Future?
After tangible printed word is gone from the earth and the people have been stupefied to the limit of the state's ability to dumb them down; will we then have the Morlocks and Eloi of "Time Machine" fame?
I have a feeling it's H.G. Wells' time to shine.
Buzzflash Needs to Help Newspapers
Me thinks you missed the point
BuzzFlash and Newspapers
BuzzFlash is not owned by large corporate media conglomerates who let their news products wither. There is a distinction between journalism and the printed newspaper. Technology has made the printed newspaper economically obsolete. We would be delighted if printed newspapers survived, but they won't for the most part because the free market has dictated that the printed newspaper is economically obsolete. Journalism will survive, and journalists will survive. They just won't be writing for printed editions. BuzzFlash doesn't determine the marketplace; economics does.