Newsweek disbands print edition for the net; Communities is already there
communities.washingtontimes.com | Oct 18th 2012
CHARLOTTE, October 18, 2012 — If you are reading this you are on the cutting edge of journalistic development and technology. This is a story with long-lasting ramifications about the way Americans obtain news and information.
First it was the New Orleans Times-Picayune; now Newsweek has announced that it will cease to appear in print to concentrate on online publication. Others will follow. It signals the death knell for many similar print journalism outlets. It's only a matter of time.
Readers of Communities @WashingtonTimes.com have already latched on to the wave of the future. With the advent of a variety of handheld instantaneous news sources, information is just a cell phone or iPad away. By the time a print newspaper reaches your doorstep, the news is already six to twelve hours old.
Not a plus in a moment-to-moment society.
Though daily newspapers have been the most heavily affected, even network television news broadcasts are suffering because they are no longer able to compete with the round-the-clock cable news networks.
Satellite communications have made news and information lightning quick from virtually any part of the world, and you can carry it all in your pocket.
But there are other factors causing this demise in traditional media. Paper journalism as a legitimate source for disseminating the news is dead. It committed suicide through biases exposed by dissenting voices. The public became increasingly savvy and media did little to adapt to the groundswell of quietly growing antagonism.
Had daily newspapers returned to a balanced approach of news analysis, providing in-depth coverage of both sides of an issue, they might have survived. One thing print media can do better than electronic news outlets is provide long, detailed articles that people can sit and think about. A slow and thoughtful analysis is something that eludes broadcasters.
Television is geared to timed segments leading to commercial breaks and talking-head debates that are little more than verbal wrestling matches. Nothing is ever resolved and, usually, much of the discussion is inaudible because the combatants shouting over each other. Broadcasters call that "great television." Viewers call it "incomprehensible noise."
Consequently, the medium has no way to provide the same conscientious detail of its print counterpart. That sort of depth on television would be deadly.
As one reporter wrote about the extinction of the Times-Picayune, "If the story is important enough to cover, then it is important enough to state the facts without comment. If the paper or the reporter has an opinion about what was said, then publish that under the title 'Opinion.'"
There is something to be said for the tactile pleasure of perusing a newspaper or a magazine over a cup of coffee or during your morning commute. It is a joy that is rapidly disappearing from Americana as we know it, however. Staring at a screen just isn't same as reading the funnies or doing a crossword puzzle, but the need for immediacy is winning the battle.
Communities @WashingtonTimes.com is a product of just such a desire. The Communities fulfills three major aspects of traditional journalism that daily newspapers have lost:
* First there is almost instant coverage of any current event, be it domestic or global.
With hundreds of writers contributing stories on just about every subject from politics, to business, to religion, sports, entertainment, travel or lifestyles, Communities offers a voice for everyone.
* The second significant facet of that coverage is that it doesn't have to be news, but it IS balanced. Communities, like many outlets for "social journalism," prints points of view from every angle. Individual columns make no claim to be unbiased, but opposing perspectives are provided throughout the day. Readers can opt to pick and choose items that appeal to them, or to even read conflicting perspectives and then make up their own minds.
* Finally, the Communities is able to provide details and information that is limited in broadcasting. Television is restricted by time and newspapers by space, but Communities @WashingtonTimes.com contends with neither of those barriers.
With over 150 writers, including lawyers, artists, youth developing a first byline, and even seasoned journalists from print and online media, Communities offers a blueprint on how to provide quality reads while fostering that fresh voice that internet bound readers demand.
"We strive to provide thorough political and global analysis along with the family, entertainment, sports, business and health care information our writers create every day, all day," Jacquie Kubin, managing editor of Communities says. "Not everyone agrees with everything we say, but if you need to have a writer you agree, or disagree, with, you will probably find them here."
To be sure there is considerable resentment among many old school reporters for contemporary writers at outlets like Communities. As Juan Williams said to Michelle Malkin in recent television debate on Hannity, "I'm a real reporter, not just a blogger."
Sadly for many of those "real" reporters, they may either have to adapt to a brave new world of electronic internet journalism or disappear into that great newsroom in the sky.
It won't be long before other newspapers and magazines go the way of the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Newsweek to concentrate on an online version of their once noteworthy publications. Meanwhile, Communities @WashingtonTimes, and news sources like it, are a growing trend.
We are the wave of the future.
Peabod is Bob Taylor, owner of Tailored Media Services in Charlotte, NC, founder of The Magellan Travel Club which creates and escorts customized tours to Switzerland, France and Italy for groups of 12 or more. Inquiries for groups can be made at Peabod@aol.com.
Taylored Media has produced marketing videos for British Rail, Rail Europe, Switzerland Tourism, the Swedish Travel & Tourism Council, the Finnish Tourist Board, the Swiss Travel System and Japan Railways Group among others. As author of The Century Club book, Peabod is now attempting to travel to 100 countries or more during his lifetime. To date he has visited 70 countries. Suggest someplace new for Bob to visit; if you want to know where he has been, check his list on Facebook. Bob plans to write a sequel to his book when he reaches his goal of 100 countries.
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Original Page: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/political-potpourri/2012/oct/18/newsweek-headed-net-communities-readers-take-notic/
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Victor Cuvo, Attorney at Law
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