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Newspapers, especially local dailies, provide 61 percent more news than TV, radio, and yes, the Internet, which creeps into the tail end of the race with a measly 4 percent. This figures come from a recent study that clearly shows that the most new information, in-depth information, comes from local newspapers.
While everyone is hailing the death of local rags of all sizes, what no one seems to notice is that TV stations send fewer reporters out to capture “live” scenes and more is delivered via narrative. The sound-bite limitations give a short recap with little to no detail or depth. Radio now delivers news harvested from newspapers and TV, sometimes giving credit where credit is due, sometimes not. I’ve had my own articles read on the radio, word for word, but without that credit to me or the newspaper I write for.
While the Internet may be a great way to get your news, its content comes directly from local newspapers. Without those newspapers, there would be no news to aggregate.
So, before you go planning the funeral, take a another look. The source of news, the necessary function of keeping government honest, is still alive and well. Be thankful that it is or we’d all be left in the dark to wonder.
3 comments:
Interesting, I found just the opposite. Most of the garbage articles found in newspapers has a little (AP) or (reuters) as the source. These are the exact same stories I read yesterday online. I support newspapers that do real reporting, not just printing stories off the wire.
Those figures really surprise me! I probably get more news from the TV than anywhere, followed by the internet.
Taking the issue of live reporters a little further, I was remarking just this morning on the number of reporters in Haiti and who are presumably are well fed and sheltered.
Turnip, the dailies are feeling the pinch now more than ever since advertising is way, way down. My paper runs with one full time reporter who is now the acting managing editor and a few stringers. But, we fill the front page only with news that we've covered locally. The AP fills in the state and national news that we squeeze in. It's not often that our local stories venture out of the area to be picked up by the wires, except recently we had a tax fiasco and an Amtrak train wreck.
I was not surprised by the numbers because I know it's only a few of us that actually dig deep and provide more information than TV coverage gives. And, that's the way it's all fit together for many years. If you want a summary, watch TV. If you want the full story, pick up a newspaper. It works well that way.
I about had a fit when I watched Hurricane Katrina coverage. If the news could get in, why couldn't relief efforts? I don't watch TV at all now, and I'm glad that I don't!
Thanks for stopping in, Turnip and Sheila!
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