The reason why newspapers are failing
They are too darn slow.
And the reason why they haven’t transitioned to online yet?
Because they’re still only worried about print deadlines and don’t care to hurry up and write a brief to get it on the Web site.
Meanwhile, the student newspaper was all over the shooting that happened on campus. They had a story up within 15 or 20 minutes. Students were Twittering and Facebooking and already had the whole story on these various social networks while the guys at the biggest newspaper in the region were ordering McDonalds. As all this was happinging, I sat here at my desk for more than an hour and a half after the event occurred, and I waited for a brief to put on the Web site. I had the new article set up; I had a photo courtesy a fellow freelance student journalist totally ready to go up with the theoretical story. And I waited.
I even wrote this blog post before they got me an article.
That’s why newspapers are dying. Or dead. Whatever.
