wco81 wrote:Fact is, people aren't reading papers, instead reading some blogs, catching snippets of news on TV, or not bothering to follow the news at all.
Bull's-eye.
The more I think about it, the more I realize the iPad isn't going to save papers. What is more portable than a newspaper, especially one that's tabloid-sized? What's in the electronic edition of the New York Times that you're not already getting through blogs or other Web sites, other than local news?
People aren't reading papers for the reasons WCO mentioned above and also because we're living in a niche world driven by the Internet. People can access tons of information and opinion about individual niches that matter to them on a variety of existing devices. The iPad isn't providing us with any access we don't already have; it's just another vessel.
My Google Reader is loaded with blogs and podcasts about boxing, racing, hockey, bargain hunting, music and Libertarian politics. Those are all niches that matter to me, and I get MUCH more info. on them than I ever could get in a daily paper.
Newspapers, on the other hand, cover a wide spectrum but are masters of nothing. That doesn't work in a niche world.
Daily papers are good for only one thing: Local news, sports and opinion. Otherwise, newspapers' relevance is disappearing into the vanishing point of the rear-view mirror. As a former print journalist, that saddens me. But it's a fact.
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