The (rapid) decline of the media industry
Those of us who have been classically trained in journalism (from back in the days when journalism was more than blogging and posting videos to Twitter), it’s hard to see the decline of the world in which we once thrived. Writing for a local newspaper in the 80s showed me two things that I can say are amongst my most insightful perspectives:
- Journalism has always been an engine that drives revenues
- Real “journalists” were going to be replaced over time as technology improved
At the time I was called an apocalyptic freak. I believe those were the actual words used by an editor who was, at the time, in his 60s and is still alive today. Yes, I was correct on both counts; I wish I would have marked the date because it hasn’t happened very often since.
The infographic below that I found on TheNextWeb does a pretty good job at reflecting my perceptions of the trends in media today.
We need a new wave of journalists. Find the niche associated with internet news
Scumbag journalist:
Decries “new media”
Posts infographic.
I readdit and my tears turned to laughter.
For my part, I enjoyed getting the paper delivered to my house daily.
Why I cancelled receiving the paper was due to how the delivery was managed. I travel frequently, sometimes without much warning. Coming home to a months worth of soggy papers at the bottom of my driveway was not only messy, it was also a security risk. I could understand it …once, but not repeatably.
Now, I get the Sunday paper out of the machine, IF I am out and IF my wife requests it.
How does your last figure make sense? Just 40% of people read a newspaper (online or in print). Fine. Why don’t the other two numbers add up to 100%?
It’s not sad… It’s time to celebrate progress!
Pop the champagne!