Everyday more advanced, supposedly better then the last, technology gets released and brought into our world meant to simplify and time manage our already fast paced and nonstop lives. Unfortunately newspapers countrywide, despite surviving their struggles over the past decade, may be on its last leg unless some major transformations are made. News organizations all over are rapidly shrinking, along with the number of journalists that have made those papers possible. The risk of becoming completely obsolete since the coming age of digital journalism is looking more like a reality rather then a horror story told around the office. With the countless number of digital news sites cropping up everyday, from existing television stations sites, surviving newspapers sites or even the everyday bloggers webpage; anyone and everyone these days can become a producer of news content whether they are completely reputable or not. Better yet, all of these sites with an abundance of information at your fingertips, unlike the newspaper, are completely free.
Due to these circumstances it’s understandable why newspapers around the country are one-by-one having to close their doors and go back to the drawing board. Not only do they need to figure out a way to keep their paper alive but make a profit while doing so. This will be a very difficult task without the help of their surrounding government officials, community members and sponsors. Even then, if they were to get enough support to keep their paper going, how long exactly would that last? If the upcoming generations were to be polled on how many times they have picked up a newspaper and read it through and through, or even just read a few of the main articles in recent years, it wouldn’t be surprising if the resulting numbers were well below half.
Truthfully, despite being a recipient of a weekly paper myself, with the accessibility of so many news sources online, I don’t believe I would miss the paper being dropped at my door every Sunday. I know in many cases people today are having papers and articles sent straight to their email, or to their handheld tablet. With such competition these traditional papers need to consider their options and try and adapt in other ways to keep themselves around. Though the physical newspaper itself may at some point diminish, the power of written word and the passion of the journalists themselves will work to keep us informed and aware of the world around us.