One thing for you to consider - as you contemplate...

2009-08-12T21:28:29.705-04:00

One thing for you to consider - as you contemplate the future of news delivery - is the role of the deliverer. Think about this for a second or two. There are two basic roles that news delivery channels take, either that of a news repeater, or a news originator.

Is the deliverer simply a repeater? This is the primary role that all major US newspapers fulfilled, even as recently as 10 years ago. What IS a news repeater? One who passes on news that was gained primarily from other news sources (AP, Reuters, etc.)

Or, is the news deliverer originating news? This is the scoop, the local reporting, whatever is solely based on the observations of the staff of the channel, and is not reproducible by other channels. Regard this - anybody and everybody can have a staff team reporting, from the field, on the latest hurricane. Not one of them is offering unique news. On the other hand, the local high school football game, the murders, the volunteer efforts for Habitat for Humanity (or whatever, just to bring in a positive life example) are all unique. The reporter covering those events is more likely to be alone, and not in the company of other reporting teams.

Being a news originator changes the dynamic. It is my belief, and premise, that the structure of the news industry is evolving away from the newspapers in favor of the internet (duh). And, one large cause of that is "News Origination". For all the news that was formerly repeated, you can get the basic event from the internet more quickly and easily. "But the newspaper could give you detail, and analysis!" On the internet, you can get an advanced analysis, if you want it. You can develop trusted sources, and find analyses that you trust - and you can follow them.

But the part of the newspaper that was the news repeater is going to be gone. And, as you so discerningly point out, the classified advertising. Both elements have evolved, and that means that most newspapers will only survive in a greatly altered mode, if they survive at all. I think very few will, but I do not correspondingly think that we are losing something by that process. The news industry has repeatedly evolved over the years. Many modern conversations attribute a permanence to the newspaper that it has never really had. The function, and the culture of news, newspapers, periodicals, radio, television, cable television, and the internet have evolved greatly over the decades. As they continue to do.

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One thing for you to consider - as you contemplate...