Jacob Scharf
RINF Alternative News
As a member of the ADD generation, allow me to serve as a representative when saying “we don’t like to read newspapers”. Oftentimes, newspapers are riddled with marathons for articles, which, lets be honest, are unneeded. Reading a 1000+ word article is like watching a full game of golf on television all the way through. You’d be lying if you said you were paying attention the entire time. Of course I may not be speaking to the entire “newspaper” population; still, you should realize that the purchasing of newspaper is on the decline.
According to the Newspaper Association of America, the number of newspapers in circulation in the year 2000 was 55,773; whereas, in the year 2011 the number dropped to an astonishing, 44,421. So, what happened? Well, a number of things.
You could say newspapers are outdated–or people just don’t read anymore. Both of which could be truthful. However they’re both subdivisions of the main problem, which is the integration of a younger generation.
The counterculture that is the younger generation continues to suppress to revenue being produced by major newspaper companies. So, you may ask me; “Mr. Scharf, how can we solve this impending disaster?” Well, let’s treat this illness symptomatically.
In the words of Pope Francis, “Young people are just as attracted to the truth as they are convenience and expediency.” So ask yourself, how can we make newspapers more convenient? Well consider what convenience entails for today’s youth.
In all forums, we should be looking for ways to adapt old concepts, like the newspaper, to current technological advances. Before we immediately jump to the conclusion of iPhone apps and other smartphone devices; my proposal is based on vague but genius ramifications.
With things like ‘apps’ on a plateau as far as usage, the Internet remains a necessity for the majority of homes worldwide.
If you don’t believe me consider the amount of anxiety you experience every time your Internet crashes. Even when I typed the word, “internet” it demanded me to capitalize it with its squiggly red line. Nevertheless, my first piece of advice to newspaper companies on the decline, go to your local library and begin to explore the all-powerful, Internet.
It should seem obvious that ‘online news’ is a wave of the future, so why aren’t more people trying to adapt this business model? Placing a diagnosis on this ailment would be easy, denial. It should seem logical, how much longer can ‘printed newspapers’ last? Still, I have a large bone to pick with some of these newspaper companies.
As people we are busy and constantly on the move. Some people just use the newspaper as a way of ‘killing time’. As a student at Queens College, my time is scarce; however I always take time to read the news. But, oftentimes it’s difficult to finish newspapers because of the ridiculous length of each piece. Call me illiterate but I’m not going to finish a 1,500-word article. Not because it’s difficult, my discomfort is out of sheer spite. This is why the majority of students and youth altogether are more inclined to get their news from snippets taken from social media like Twitter. While it may be difficult to shorten your 26-mile run (that’s a marathon), consider your new, inattentive consumers that continue to fight newspapers like they would a bad cold.
All I can say is that I’m hopeful, for their sake that they begin to adapt the new values of today’s society. To recap, they must become more familiar with the advantages of maintaining an online company. In addition, they need to be able to produce shorter, easy-to-read articles. Like this one.