The age of the traditional newspaper is rapidly approaching a very real end, though by the looks of mainstream newspaper organizations one would think it were still the 1950s, and the height of the paper news industry. With newspaper readership dwindling at alarming rates it would seem prudent for traditional information mediums to heed the warnings of an ever changing global internet world.
One regional newspaper seems to be taking on the challenge of thinking outside the box, however. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has decided recently that it will no longer subscribe to the AP wire service. An organization spokesperson indicated that the Tribune was simply rethinking its business model. Obviously that model no longer includes the inveterate wire service, which has been in existence nearly as long as print newspapers. According to the AP website, they are "the backbone of the world's information system". Seems likely that may not be so true in the coming decade.
An example of the type of challenges and changes that newspapers across the country will face include the recently launched allvoices.com. This stunning effort takes the Wikipedia concept to the next level with a global newspaper written by the people, for the people. Of course, the founding fathers may be turning in their graves to think of local community members creating their own "news" (not to mention a few stolid newspaper editors) but the surge seems clearly something the future may sustain, and even more clearly, something local newspapers will have to address, and soon.
Recently the Chicago Tribune made a valiant effort at merging the "by the people" concepts of local news coverage with the traditional coverage of a paid report. The reporter, coined online as GustavReporter, made use of the newest social networking craze, Twitter. Twitter allows users with accounts to create small, 140 characters or less, messages or "status updates" to other users who are following their feed. According to Twitter, it is a "service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"
The Chicago Tribune used the tool to provide up-to-the-minute reporting of events, weather, and anything related to activities in New Orleans, before and while hurricane Gustav hit the coast. The Twitter site follower numbers grew rapidly within a few hours after I began following the reports, and information was relevant and informative. As time went on, a web page dedicated to Twitter updates was added the Tribune site, and other reporters were utilizing the information to provide news articles related to, and of significance, to the events of the hurricane and the use of social networking tools online.
So far, I have not seen any other newspapers provide this type of reporting service, but have noticed an increase in the number of political and business users now finding useful ways to provide information and move traffic to their websites. I am certain, however, that newspapers everywhere will follow suit as quickly as they can, hoping to ride the wave created by the Tribune.
What these developments indicate is a new era in political and information networking. Whether this lack of commitment to the new social networking age is the result of corporate bungling and leadership, or local newspaper's reluctance to fully change with the times is likely too early to tell. What is very obvious, however, is that newspapers everywhere will have to react very quickly, and very well, if they hope to ever keep up with this fast-paced, rapidly changing news media world.
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