Print vs. Online a Non Issue

It is good to see the Harrison Press providing more and more content on line. For sure this is where many of us will eventually look to find our news and views rather than from the traditional printed versions. If you are reading this column in the print edition of the Harrison Press you are already part of a shrinking minority of hard copy newspaper readers. It is true that the weekly or community newspapers seem to have been able to hold on to more print subscribers than their big brother daily counterparts but the trends indicate that this phenomenon will be short lived.

Some may lament the passing of the newsprint method of reporting the happenings of daily life. For many of us who grew up reading the newspaper, there certainly is a pleasant tactile response that we have while holding in our hands a newspaper or book. Whether that response is innate or learned is debatable.

Observing our younger generation can give us some hints on what the future holds not only for the printed word but for all media. Ask almost anyone under 35 if they regularly read a printed newspaper or watch TV programs in real time on the broadcast TV or on the cable/satellite channels. More often than not the answer will be no. It is not that they are not interested in current events and are unaware of what is happening around their town or the world. For sure they do enjoy entertainment. In most instances they are informed and conversant. They just get their information and entertainment in different ways.

Instead of half asleep saunter down the driveway before the first cup of morning coffee to retrieve the print edition of the newspaper, the “30 somethings” log on to a news web site or check Twitter and Facebook. Often the content on these sites are provided by the very newspapers they eschew. The Enquirer has Cincinnati.com and most premiere newspapers like the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal have very popular online editions. I read both on my computer and smart phone. The Kindle and other eReaders offer electronic versions of several daily newspapers.

For breaking news a printed newspaper can’t compete with an electronic edition. It was almost 24 hours after it happened that the printed edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer was able to report on the recent devastating earthquake in Japan. By then most people had consumed hours of video reports and analysis. Much was from the web.

It is not only the newspaper industry that is undergoing change. TV, both broadcast and cable are losing viewers to video services provided on the Internet. There is an increasing amount of first run programming available on line and on demand. “Appointment” viewing, that is watching a program when it is broadcast, is becoming less and less prevalent among all age groups. Among the 25 to 35 year old demographic regular TV viewing is the exception rather than the rule.

Some worry about these trends. Others, me included, feel that we should not concentrate on how we get information and entertainment as much as the quality and reliability of the information and entertainment we get.

Print vs. Online a Non Issue

It is good to see the Harrison Press providing more and more content on line. For sure this is where many of us will eventually look to find our news and views rather than from the traditional printed versions. If you are reading this column in the print edition of the Harrison Press you are already part of a shrinking minority of hard copy newspaper readers. It is true that the weekly or community newspapers seem to have been able to hold on to more print subscribers than their big brother daily counterparts but the trends indicate that this phenomenon will be short lived.

Some may lament the passing of the newsprint method of reporting the happenings of daily life. For many of us who grew up reading the newspaper, there certainly is a pleasant tactile response that we have while holding in our hands a newspaper or book. Whether that response is innate or learned is debatable.

Observing our younger generation can give us some hints on what the future holds not only for the printed word but for all media. Ask almost anyone under 35 if they regularly read a printed newspaper or watch TV programs in real time on the broadcast TV or on the cable/satellite channels. More often than not the answer will be no. It is not that they are not interested in current events and are unaware of what is happening around their town or the world. For sure they do enjoy entertainment. In most instances they are informed and conversant. They just get their information and entertainment in different ways.

Instead of half asleep saunter down the driveway before the first cup of morning coffee to retrieve the print edition of the newspaper, the “30 somethings” log on to a news web site or check Twitter and Facebook. Often the content on these sites are provided by the very newspapers they eschew. The Enquirer has Cincinnati.com and most premiere newspapers like the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal have very popular online editions. I read both on my computer and smart phone. The Kindle and other eReaders offer electronic versions of several daily newspapers.

For breaking news a printed newspaper can’t compete with an electronic edition. It was almost 24 hours after it happened that the printed edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer was able to report on the recent devastating earthquake in Japan. By then most people had consumed hours of video reports and analysis. Much was from the web.

It is not only the newspaper industry that is undergoing change. TV, both broadcast and cable are losing viewers to video services provided on the Internet. There is an increasing amount of first run programming available on line and on demand. “Appointment” viewing, that is watching a program when it is broadcast, is becoming less and less prevalent among all age groups. Among the 25 to 35 year old demographic regular TV viewing is the exception rather than the rule.

Some worry about these trends. Others, me included, feel that we should not concentrate on how we get information and entertainment as much as the quality and reliability of the information and entertainment we get.

CNN's Fall Disturbing...but that is not News?

The audience reports released a few weeks ago contained some interesting and, for me, disturbing trends. I was especially interested in the report that placed CNN as the fourth leading source of news on cable. That’s right, the same CNN that wrote the book on the 24 hour news service, the same CNN that garnered laughs and then dread from the broadcast networks news operations was behind Fox News, MSNBC and even CNN’s own progeny, Headline News in audiences.

While I really couldn’t care less who is first and who is second, I do care about the reasons many media pundits have given for CNN’s fall from the top spot. It seems that many feel CNN failed to take on enough of a “point of view” or “bias” in their news reporting.

Few would argue that Fox News and MSNBC have embraced a less than objective bent. Fox News leaning toward the Right and MSNBC toward the Left. While point of view and opinion and the freedom to express both are key to our democratic process, neither have any place in reporting the news of the day. It comes down to the difference between the Editorial or Opinion pages in print publications and the hard news sections.

I, for one, like the news given to me as a series of facts. Facts that have been researched, confirmed and presented in straight forward simple sentences. I can form my own opinion. For sure there is a place for opinion and debate but it is not and should not be presented as news.

Another trend in news reporting both in the cable and broadcast arena is the increase in soft news. Does the winner of American Idol or Who Wants To Be a Millionaire really belong in the same newscast as a report on the number of brave solders who lost their lives in some distant land?

There is nothing wrong with entertainment. There is nothing wrong with expressing opinions. We need both, but we also need our news reporting to be neither entertainment nor opinion.

CNN's Fall Disturbing...but that is not News?

The audience reports released a few weeks ago contained some interesting and, for me, disturbing trends. I was especially interested in the report that placed CNN as the fourth leading source of news on cable. That’s right, the same CNN that wrote the book on the 24 hour news service, the same CNN that garnered laughs and then dread from the broadcast networks news operations was behind Fox News, MSNBC and even CNN’s own progeny, Headline News in audiences.

While I really couldn’t care less who is first and who is second, I do care about the reasons many media pundits have given for CNN’s fall from the top spot. It seems that many feel CNN failed to take on enough of a “point of view” or “bias” in their news reporting.

Few would argue that Fox News and MSNBC have embraced a less than objective bent. Fox News leaning toward the Right and MSNBC toward the Left. While point of view and opinion and the freedom to express both are key to our democratic process, neither have any place in reporting the news of the day. It comes down to the difference between the Editorial or Opinion pages in print publications and the hard news sections.

I, for one, like the news given to me as a series of facts. Facts that have been researched, confirmed and presented in straight forward simple sentences. I can form my own opinion. For sure there is a place for opinion and debate but it is not and should not be presented as news.

Another trend in news reporting both in the cable and broadcast arena is the increase in soft news. Does the winner of American Idol or Who Wants To Be a Millionaire really belong in the same newscast as a report on the number of brave solders who lost their lives in some distant land?

There is nothing wrong with entertainment. There is nothing wrong with expressing opinions. We need both, but we also need our news reporting to be neither entertainment nor opinion.