The times are a changin'.
Who knew that this would happen? Newspapers are slowly dying, and some are as good as dead. The industry has to change their business models to keep up with the "webification" of our culture. Those who have succeeded have a strong web presence: blogs, video, podcasts, interactive features, constant updates, etc.
But they still print newspapers. You know...on actual paper.
The last time I regularly read actual newspapers was just before the turn of the millennium when I was still in college. I was a bit of a news junkie, as I was studying marketing and business. I was even addicted to reading the now-defunct
Business 2.0. So I had a bit of a mix of traditional media and new media. But that was then; this is now.
After many years of going light on the news (i.e. a notorious headline-reader), I'm starting to read news more heavily again. This is mainly because I'm returning to my business-oriented mindset now that I'm studying for a securities course and am making a push for a career change.
The problem? I hate reading text at length online. I see problems of contained units of meaning with such a multifaceted browsing experience that is online news. You have links, video, related content. You don't have a newspaper, you have the entire Internet tempting you to click away to the next page.
You need to spend the time to manipulate your computer and the content to get it where you want it to take it in, and that can be easily distracting. Maybe I'm old-school, but I like the idea of sitting down and consuming the pages of a newspaper without such a fragmented experience. Newspapers require your undivided attention and I tend to get down to the details more. It generally is a more relaxed and engaging reading experience.
I remember getting so much more out of reading a newspaper than I ever did browsing news online. I don't see this as a matter of choosing one over the other necessarily though. I could see online news as a supplement to reading news traditionally. Say I read the
Toronto Star. I perhaps will want to follow up on a few things I've read. Well, Google News is perfect for that. I can read alternative stories from different publications around the world or opinion pieces with differing points of view simply by typing in the keywords.
Google News has been my starting point for a while now, but maybe it isn't the starting point I want. I want something more self-contained first--something like a newspaper.
So, yeah, I just subscribed to the
Toronto Star.
With all of this in mind, does this make me more of a luddite or more erudite?
We have threads on "Where do you get your news?" but I don't think we've discussed at length a focus on the differences between reading news online and reading it in a traditional newspaper.
- What are your reading habits in this regard?
- What is your opinion of each (online and on paper)?
- Do you see yourself changing your habits any time soon?
- How have your habits changed over time?