Unfortunately, since most US citizens can get the news for free using the internet, printed news is really losing steam. I am not sure if there are any options as far as copyrighting stories (as in, the SOLE right to them), but that is about all I could see as being a way to revive the industry. Maybe posting stories online with sole copyrights that people would have to pay for in order to read. Even still, there is the problem of news on the TV, and even with these copyrights you know that it would go through the grapevine to the people of the US. Maybe though, with the copyright, the newspaper folks could sue the news? Everybody wins in that case, right? :-P Sticky situation...
I can't think of a solution outside of charging for online subscriptions, which would probably cause readers to search for news elsewhere, for free (that is, unless all news sources follow suit).
I think this is, for newspapers companies, just one of those inevitable, unfortunate effects of the internet's expansion and ease of use.
Charging more for advertisements could be a temp solution but in return will only shift the strain to the businesses that want to advertise and then businesses in return will advertise other ways probably electronically through other media. Charging for internet stories was an idea that I heard about a while ago and will bring creditability back to investigative journalism, as a college student I wouldn't be able to afford any fees for service so really I have no options except for buy the daily news daily like me. It’s the best way to hear about philly area sports still.
Another thing to think about is not just daily newspapers, but eventually magazines and even books are started to become more accessible via internet. Many books are already available online, and the mere existence of libraries also drives book sales down. Anyone heard of Amazon's Kindle? A handheld high tech gadget for books for what music is to an iPod. As of now, there is a limited amount of memory on the Kindle, and there is a fee for each book you put on the device, but how long is it before books are only 99 cents like a music track at the iTunes store? Or even available for free online or for a membership subscription? Maybe this represents not only the end of journalism but mass production and sales of books as well. Shannon O'Lone
Unfortunately, since most US citizens can get the news for free using the internet, printed news is really losing steam. I am not sure if there are any options as far as copyrighting stories (as in, the SOLE right to them), but that is about all I could see as being a way to revive the industry. Maybe posting stories online with sole copyrights that people would have to pay for in order to read. Even still, there is the problem of news on the TV, and even with these copyrights you know that it would go through the grapevine to the people of the US. Maybe though, with the copyright, the newspaper folks could sue the news? Everybody wins in that case, right? :-P Sticky situation...
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a solution outside of charging for online subscriptions, which would probably cause readers to search for news elsewhere, for free (that is, unless all news sources follow suit).
ReplyDeleteI think this is, for newspapers companies, just one of those inevitable, unfortunate effects of the internet's expansion and ease of use.
In that case this could be the end of serious investigative journalism.
ReplyDeletePat Dunn thinks
ReplyDeleteCharging more for advertisements could be a temp solution but in return will only shift the strain to the businesses that want to advertise and then businesses in return will advertise other ways probably electronically through other media. Charging for internet stories was an idea that I heard about a while ago and will bring creditability back to investigative journalism, as a college student I wouldn't be able to afford any fees for service so really I have no options except for buy the daily news daily like me. It’s the best way to hear about philly area sports still.
Another thing to think about is not just daily newspapers, but eventually magazines and even books are started to become more accessible via internet. Many books are already available online, and the mere existence of libraries also drives book sales down. Anyone heard of Amazon's Kindle? A handheld high tech gadget for books for what music is to an iPod. As of now, there is a limited amount of memory on the Kindle, and there is a fee for each book you put on the device, but how long is it before books are only 99 cents like a music track at the iTunes store? Or even available for free online or for a membership subscription? Maybe this represents not only the end of journalism but mass production and sales of books as well.
ReplyDeleteShannon O'Lone