Fred Hutchison
Save the print media
By Fred Hutchison
(Letter to the editor, the Columbus Dispatch)
Although I am usually a critic of the liberal print media, I am now obliged to argue that the print media is a necessity, not a luxury. After citing figures about the decline of the print media, columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. is ready to throw in the towel. "Blow it up" he counsels and switch to other media. The problem is that there is no other media which is capable of replacing the print media.
Virtually all the news on web sites, blogs and radio are derivative. The stories they report are originated by newspaper reporters and by mainstream news services. Television stations, networks and cable channels do have reporters, but nothing comparable in numbers, journalistic focus, sources and worn out shoe leather to the news rooms of large urban newspapers. TV reporters occasionally originate significant stories, but most of the time they follow up on stories they read about in the print media.
If the print media fails, the splendid gusher of news will turn into a trickle. Without a well-informed citizenry this Republic will fail.
I do not agree that TV and the internet prevents people from reading. Urban life has always been full of distractions and activities which rival reading time.
The schools used to introduce students to classic literature which engendered a lifetime love of reading. In contrast, students now have to read depressing fad books and multicultural fluff. After such child abuse, some kids hope to never read another book. If they don't read books they probably won't read newspapers.
Why doesn't the Dispatch sponsor a summer program for teens titled "How to read a newspaper?" The correct techniques for reading newspapers can be learned in a few weeks and honed to a sharp edge in a few months.
© Fred Hutchison
(Letter to the editor, the Columbus Dispatch)
Although I am usually a critic of the liberal print media, I am now obliged to argue that the print media is a necessity, not a luxury. After citing figures about the decline of the print media, columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. is ready to throw in the towel. "Blow it up" he counsels and switch to other media. The problem is that there is no other media which is capable of replacing the print media.
Virtually all the news on web sites, blogs and radio are derivative. The stories they report are originated by newspaper reporters and by mainstream news services. Television stations, networks and cable channels do have reporters, but nothing comparable in numbers, journalistic focus, sources and worn out shoe leather to the news rooms of large urban newspapers. TV reporters occasionally originate significant stories, but most of the time they follow up on stories they read about in the print media.
If the print media fails, the splendid gusher of news will turn into a trickle. Without a well-informed citizenry this Republic will fail.
I do not agree that TV and the internet prevents people from reading. Urban life has always been full of distractions and activities which rival reading time.
The schools used to introduce students to classic literature which engendered a lifetime love of reading. In contrast, students now have to read depressing fad books and multicultural fluff. After such child abuse, some kids hope to never read another book. If they don't read books they probably won't read newspapers.
Why doesn't the Dispatch sponsor a summer program for teens titled "How to read a newspaper?" The correct techniques for reading newspapers can be learned in a few weeks and honed to a sharp edge in a few months.
© Fred Hutchison
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