"State of the Newspaper" Address

In today's technological age, the newspaper seems archaic. With so many other places to get our information about the world, why use a newspaper? I still believe it's a great tool for dealing with local news and affairs, but there isn't much reason to suggest that the Internet won't take over that role in a better, more efficient fashion. I have to agree with the critics who say that the newspaper industry as it's currently constructed will inevitably fail, but I wonder that if it were to happen, would it feel like a tragedy? I tend to think not.

The question becomes whether or not this way of distrubuting information has become obsolete. A newspaper's cost seems reasonable, it's easy to carry, and can be used at almost any time or place. In my opinion, this is a key aspect of the newspaper that has allowed it to endure this far in time. For a platform so old, it has the unique ability of being more "on-demand" than some of our newer media. But let's continue by talking about culture. We say that mass media is a "cultural forum" where it's members can reflect upon and debate the social integrity of communities, government, and civilization. The newspaper more than any other platform allowed its participants to speak their minds, but now the Internet has been able to do it much easier and faster. Certain websites like "Myspace" and "Facebook" have figured out that people like to be engaged in the same media that they digest.

So what is the newspaper industry trying to do to get us involved? I can only speak for myself when I say that increased advertising doesn't cut it. Give me a newspaper with ninety percent advertisement and I still won't buy it. What newspaper companies are starting to realize is that my generation only uses a newspaper when there isn't a computer around. Their decision to get us involvedon public forums via the Internet is smart, but also a no-brainer. However, it all points to the same result; the newspaper is being faced with its own demise, and its' killer is modern technology. Even if it does convert to the internet, how much can an entity change before it has become something completely different?