This Is The Modern World

April 29th, 2005 · 2 Comments
by Booksquare

As part of our romantic evening, the husband regaled us with exciting sentences from the latest Adam Penenberg column. You know, as a prelude to a rousing discussion on the state of journalism today. Or rather the state of newspapers, which is something that interests us greatly.

It’s not that news isn’t relevant, but when we get up in the morning and scan the Los Angeles Times “A” section, it’s filled with yesterday’s news. Literally. The news we read yesterday. Old stuff. This morning, there’s a whole bunch of new news. Because of the process of printing, newspapers will necessarily lose certain battles, meaning they have to rethink their roles. It had to happen — it’s not like they weren’t warned way back when radio was invented.

Though Penenberg thinks the printed word (in certain context, we presume) is in its twilight years, we aren’t so sure. Hand-wringing and compulsory registration won’t save the newspapers; creative thinking…well, maybe there’s something. We aren’t entirely sure how long paradigm shifts take — they often feel like continents breaking apart — but the music industry waited until their audience had moved on before sitting down and thinking maybe they should do something about this online scene. Newspapers aren’t much better.

In the meantime, the world needs good writers who get the story:

Because whether we’re talking today or 10 years ago, it’s not the medium, it’s the reporter.

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs

2 responses so far ↓

  • Brenda Coulter // Apr 29, 2005 at 10:42 am

    That was a romantic evening? Gee. Sounds like you’re been married a really long time. Or was that just you being facetious again?

    By the way, it sounds like you’re confusing paradigm shifts with continental drift.

    😉

  • Booksquare // Apr 29, 2005 at 10:53 am

    Are you implying that wasn’t romantic? Probably I shouldn’t admit that later conversation centered on the purchase order process and how it could be streamlined. We lingered over after-dinner drinks for that one.

    Not so much confusing paradigm shifts and contintental drifts (the term I couldn’t remember at the crack of dawn) as comparing them. Mornings are rought around here…especially after such a romantic evening.