Response to blog

I would have to agree with Jim about the fact that so much has changed over the last 10 years in our technology advancements. Although I personally do not read the newspaper, I can remember being a kid and always watching my dad read the funnies. Today, we dont even have newspaper at our house to start a fire. Though I can imagine life without having a newspaper, those who have become accustomed to having the newspaper brought to their doors every morning are not going to support its disappearance.

It is also true, the internet has become a necessity in almost everyones lives. Especially for students. If you think about it, we use the internet to research projects, do homework, take quizzes, communicate with fellow students, check our grades, register our classes, and even find our campus housing and jobs. Without the internet, we would struggle severely. I hate to be so careless about the loss of newspaper again but if the internet can satisfy all of our needs, then why do we need the newspaper? 

I guess I can see why you would say we rely on the internet too much. I would agree, that maybe we do, but what is the worst that could come out of using the internet frequently? In the end, there will always be news from all different mediums that will not be true, that may be far-fetched,  and that may also be very important. It is up to us to decide what we chose to believe and to understand that our world thrives on news to function.

“Serious, careful, honest journalism is essential, not because it is a guiding light but because it is a form of honorable behavior, involving the reporter and the reader." And, one hopes, the viewer, too. stated Bill Moyers in his essay on “Journalism and Democracy”. I think its interesting to note not just how important journalism is to our lives but how important it is to give honest news. But with or without newspapers, can we eliminate false news? I would say, no. 

Jenny Arth, response to ten years.

extra link

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/159550/technology/how_technology_is_affecting_our_lives.html

Response to "The Fall of Print News"

I agree with Sam Ellingson in The Fall of Print News when he says, "Journalists need to offer something to a reader that they cannot get easier online."

Maybe not easier, as the internet is one of the easiest, laziest inventions of all time. But newspapers definitely need to offer something that their online counterparts are incapable of offering. 

But what?

Crossword puzzles? Although not as fun, they can still be done online.

Comics? Horoscopes? Reviews? Obviously, these are all quite prevelant online.

I believe newspapers need to start offering something new, something in addition to just the newspaper itself. If they want people to continue paying for their news, they have to make a change.

Perhaps include tickets, discounts, freebies along with the newspaper. Something that can be in the hand of the reader. Something the internet cannot physically give to their reader.

Change is inevitable, and unless the newspaper companies realize this they will have a very hard time surviving. 

response to newspapers uphold democracy, shaena Friedman

The decline in political participation have definitely made a crucial impact on the world of newspapers. Without the reporters adding in vital information to story's, can affect the news that is reported. Recording important information is also a vital aspect of the field of journalism. Democracy by definition is "for the people, by the people." That being said it is very important that journalist do not stop reporting the content at which the public eye needs to be educated on.

Democracy will ultimately be around the United States forever, under our constitutional rights, unfortunately the same cannot be said about journalistic reports that you can find on print. The era of dead tree reporting is slowly fading away into a abyss. The new online approach is dominant amongst americans as well as many other countries. Do to the decline in political participation in the media, the audience may get more of a partisan approach. One that would seemingly be found across the pond.

For more info regarding the loss of journalism in our democracy, check out this link http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/03/local-newspapers-journalism-democracy

Matt Yaeger

The decline of Americas Newspapers will not hurt us:Jenny Arth

Journalism in all forms is important to democracy because we must be informed about the world around us in order to make the most educated decisions. This shouldn't mean that the media gives us a straight forward answers as to what we should and should not believe but more so provides us with a solid coverage of information.

The recent decline of newspapers is primarily due to substitution by other forms of journalism. Whether or not these are the same quality and accuracy is the real question. All forms of journalism have been accused of being inaccurate at times and now with the newspapers disappearing people are stepping out trying to find reasons why the newspaper holds some kind of higher value. The big difference here is time. Sources such as the internet and TV have instant access to our minds where as the newspaper takes around a day to reach us. A site I found a lot of information is located at 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=101237069
I have never liked newspapers though I can say that one thing that is useful about newspapers is that once something is said and printed, it can always be proven. On media outlets such as the internet, people can hack and change around words. More than often, when someone is reading an internet source, they have to wonder how credible it is whereas the newspapers hold an abundance of established writers. However, what it comes down to is that accessing news on the internet and TV is instant and for me, easier to read. so for many, they are going to take the convenient route

I do not believe that newspapers are going to affect our democracy. In fact I find it a bit appalling that we can say that a newspaper is what leads us to be better citizens. In this article by Adrian Monck

http://adrianmonck.com/2008/12/democracy-collapse-journalism-provide-political-information/">
she talks about how our faults have more to do with our democracy than our journalism which I found to be very interesting. In one view, newspapers are thought to be what makes us wiser voters and better educated about politics, but how can that be true when a larger percentage of the public has already stopped reading newspapers? Those who don’t read the newspaper wont care so much if its gone and the only reason it is even getting this much attention is because now it may disappear. A Pew Research Center poll released earlier this month shows that fewer than half of Americans "say that losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in their community 'a lot. Moving ahead in our times means moving ahead in our technology and this is just another new adaption.

Yamin's response to "The failing newspaper industry is hurting America's Democracy"

I’m quite troubled by your post, since you seem to contradict your own message. You do a good job of pointing out that newspapers are in fact crucial to our democracy and that “the decline in the amount of newspapers circulating in the country is due to the rise of the corporate state, and the loss of civic responsibility to inform the public.” I commend you for that message, and the acknowledgement that internet could never replace print news. You even go farther in the next paragraph, but oh, wait, what’s that you say in the end? You ask “why save a failing medium?” and “we need to embrace this new medium (the internet) and let these newspapers either die off…”

You were so right, but then you got to be so wrong. If we Americans have learned anything from allowing corporations to take over industries it’s that it harms the average citizen. Let’s take global media mogul Rupert Murdoch for example. He owns Fox, The New York Post, and many, many other newspapers and stations. The guy has immense amounts of influence, as you can see from the video on the link. He has the power to sway people’s opinions because the media outlets that he owns can spin bias on the reporting they do. The more people they can reach, the more influence they have, the less objective news you get. Is this what the media was made for?

In these economic difficulties, it’s easy to point fingers at companies and say “we don’t need that one anymore because it’s not worth saving it.” But this isn’t a car company we can do without. This is one of the most important aspects of our democracy. This is the information that you and I need in order to make informed decisions about the people that run this country and the decisions they make. The difference between watching independent news like Democracy Now and watching corporate news like Fox News is drastic, and there’s a reason why.

Michael Lambert in Response to: The Failing Newspaper Industry is Hurting America's Democracy

Re: The Failing Newspaper Industry is Hurting America's Democracy

The newspaper industry has changed a lot since it's "hay-day," but I fail to see the connection between it and Democracy. Democracy, by definition, is there for the people, not for dying industries. With the majority of people receiving their news online, or other sources, the newspaper industry has been forced to try and find an alternative.

The people in this economy are winning by not having to pay to get their news. Many sources are available other than the newspaper, as well. Television is a popular source for news, e.g. The Daily Show as seen in Lecture.

The people need a credible, and reliable form of receiving their news. They can find quicker updates, and get them on a world-wide scale. The internet is constantly becoming more and more advanced, and soon will be able to replace the newspaper printing industry as a whole.