Newspaper: The Grandfather of Media

Response to "Newspaper: The Aging, Dying Media Vehicle"

Can we ever say goodbye to the newspaper? Maybe, "until next time" might be a more fitting line of departure. Goodbye sparks the thought of eternity. I don't think the print newspaper will ever be completely laid to rest. We cannot forget the greatness that print media once relished in. The newspaper helped spur an American Revolution. Thomas Paine's pamphlet, "Common Sense," was the most influential media source during the late 1700s amidst a time when America sought independence. The newspaper is the grandfather of all media since its time, and all forms of media to come. We must honor our media elders and understand that their will always be a place in our society for the newspaper; even if it is a diminishing roll.

James Stovall says that the element that holds a society of diverse people together is the news. The News is no different from one person to the other; it doesn't segregate itself, or discriminate from others. The news is the beating heart of our society because it pumps knowledge and information to us all. The newspaper was once polished as the media's main machine for dispensing the news is merely just a cog in the whole operation now. The internet is indeed stepping into the spotlight as the main source of media dispersal, but the newspaper is still needed. You cannot look at it as a one or the other type of situation. To be informed citizens we must be well rounded in current affairs and political happenings in our country, and last time I checked the newspaper still aided in this process.

Rupert Murdoch, a global media mogul, has an interesting article about the relationship of the media, and the importance of journalism as a whole. "The answer is that great journalism will always attract readers. The words, pictures and graphics that are the stuff of journalism have to be brilliantly packaged; they must feed the mind and move the heart."

The bottom line is that understanding our language and bundling words with other words to create an object of beauty will always attract a readership. The newspaper still does this the best. The internet has timeliness in its back pocket, but print media is still a premier art. There is still something attractive about news in the print form; it still has life.

People still love vinyl records, classic cars and movies in black and white. There is something nostalgic about the trends of the past and the newspaper is shifting to this group. The newspaper is becoming and ancient commodity, but I think it will age for a long time. Many of its branches will wither in the media heat, but the trunk will stand for years and years to come. Superman sightings will always be reported in pages of the Daily Planet,and there will always be that young boy on the corner yelling, "Extra Extra read all about it!"