So, despite the fact that I found myself neglecting the paper, I renewed my subscription with the hope that some newspapers will remain in print.
With the explosion of the web many people are getting their news and information online than anywhere else. Many print-based newspapers are feeling the crunch. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer Newspaper delivered it's last print edition in March and the San Francisco Chronicle continues to struggle. The Chicago Tribune has seen its share of woes as well. As the world of journalism begins to change, what does that say for young journalists. Will newspapers eventually fade away? Will journalism classes be completely online? It's already starting to happen.
Antioch Community High School in Antioch, IL is trying to figure out how to deal with budget constraints. In a Chicago Tribune article, the newspaper team said that the school currently prints a 12 page paper, half the size of their previous 24 page paper. This is one way to deal with ever-shrinking budgets. Many other schools are starting to go completely print free. Jamesville-Dewitt High School will print it's last hard copy in May.
This kind of change in media is what we need to consider in schools and libraries as we continue to create programming. Journalism means so many things beyond interviews and word processors. Video blogs and wikis can take the place of interviews and editorials. Forums can take the place of advice columns. And these things are already happening. As technology continues to change we need to make sure we keep up on it. It's hard, at least for me, to embrace this change at times. Is this how my parents felt when records became non-existent? Or when telephones became cordless? I think the internet is an amazing thing and for the most part I'm a digital native, or at least close enough to one. But, it saddens me to think that books, magazines and newspapers will eventually see an untimely death.
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