Newspapers

Today's Washington Post has a story about how the New York Times Company may be in the process of shutting down the Boston Globe, and Megan McCardle has a post over at her blog about Warren Buffet's response to a question about the lousy  economic outlook for newspapers in general.

I'm someone who truly likes reading newspapers, so it pains me to refer to both stories.  It may say more about my age and generation than anything else, but until last Friday I found it hard to understand how people could be abandoning both national and local papers in what seems to be steadily increasing numbers.  To me, newspapers have always been indispensible.

But it all became clear to me last Friday when I got rid of my landline at home.  For the first time in my life, I don't have a phone plugged in to the wall with an extension in every room.

Why did I do it? Cost was one, but hardly the major issue.

Today's New York Times has an interesting op-ed by "Public Editor" Clark Hoyt about reporters who also write columns, that is, opinion pieces, on the same subjects they cover.  His question: Is that appropriate?

The question is interesting but largely passe to the point of almost being quaint. Print reporters routinely get interviewed on television and radio about the stories they cover and are often treated as experts in their field.  Many print and on air journalists these days also have blogs in which they provide their opinions on many of the same subjects they write about as reporters.

It's not surprising, therefore, that the publications for which these journalists report also want them to provide the opinion-oriented content instead of allowing them to provide it elsewhere.

There's also a bottom line consideration that Hoyt doesn't mention: Having one of your reporters write a column in most cases means that you don't have to pay someone to provide that additional content.

A big storm went through the DC while I was in sunny California. Many areas, including where I ive, lost power for a day or two. My Beautiful and Talented Wife (The BTW) had to go to a hotel.

This story from today's Washington Post talked about how everyone coped with the power loss. But the sign of the times is this money quote from a teenager who didn't have access to the internet:

Our only news source was -- get this -- the newspaper," he said. "I always read the sports section. But this time, I was forced to read outside my boundaries. The news!"