I am writing this first post for Wonder Blog on the same day that the Chicago-Sun times has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (though I am posting it a day later).
I've learned this information by reading another newspaper's website, this did not cost me a dime. I have linked to the article above, if people click on my blog to read my post about the newspaper story I'll make money.
This perfectly illustrates the crazy dynamic that now exists (and is dissected ad nauseum) in the media world. The means of distribution and payment that fueled the newspaper industry have been dispersed, but the actual product--the written, edited pieces of information--remains largely the same. This isn't necessarily a problem; many people still want to read the morning paper, just not necessarily on paper. However until the clueless publishers can find a way to turn their moribund carcasses into cyber successes we owe it to our own curiosity to keep their newspapers going. Buy a newspaper, go out and buy one, do it daily or do it weekly. Throw some money into the hats of these sinking businesses. Increased readership alone won't save newspapers (no one is ever going to pay a newspaper to advertise a room for rent again) so it won't incentivize dumb CEOs to avoid change. What an increase in readership might do is add a small increase in revenue to the companys' quarterly reports and give Newspapers a reprieve as they try and find their footing.
Wonder Blog's motto is not sarcastic, I sincerely believe an ability to write cogently about current events and the world at large hinges on the survival of "old media." So please, save a blog, buy a newspaper.
I've learned this information by reading another newspaper's website, this did not cost me a dime. I have linked to the article above, if people click on my blog to read my post about the newspaper story I'll make money.
This perfectly illustrates the crazy dynamic that now exists (and is dissected ad nauseum) in the media world. The means of distribution and payment that fueled the newspaper industry have been dispersed, but the actual product--the written, edited pieces of information--remains largely the same. This isn't necessarily a problem; many people still want to read the morning paper, just not necessarily on paper. However until the clueless publishers can find a way to turn their moribund carcasses into cyber successes we owe it to our own curiosity to keep their newspapers going. Buy a newspaper, go out and buy one, do it daily or do it weekly. Throw some money into the hats of these sinking businesses. Increased readership alone won't save newspapers (no one is ever going to pay a newspaper to advertise a room for rent again) so it won't incentivize dumb CEOs to avoid change. What an increase in readership might do is add a small increase in revenue to the companys' quarterly reports and give Newspapers a reprieve as they try and find their footing.
Wonder Blog's motto is not sarcastic, I sincerely believe an ability to write cogently about current events and the world at large hinges on the survival of "old media." So please, save a blog, buy a newspaper.
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