The Death of Newspapers

The fear of identity theft runs rampant on the internet. "Protect your credit!" has become an industry of its own; people fear revealing their addresses, phone numbers, full names, and social security numbers, even to legitimate sites. It takes effort to decode secure sites or hack into a database, but it's diabolically simple to dig through a corporation's trash can for juicy information. Have people become so concerned with online safety and identity theft that they've forgotten about the risks that exist in real life?

At least three burglaries in the San Francisco Bay Area have been traced back to the same crime ring - a ring that's been taking subscriber information from an old-fashioned print newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rather than let newspapers pile up on their front porch, vacationing subscribers tried to protect themselves by putting their delivery on hold. But all of their information - address, phone number, dates they'd be gone - were printed on sheets of paper that the newspaper usually just throws in the dumpster. One of the burglary victims did investigations of his own. Months after warning the newspaper about their security breach, he glanced in their dumpsters and found gobs of personal information on other subscribers. He even saw an employee carelessly tossing the sensitive information away.

If you get your news on the internet, at least your name, address, and vacation dates aren't lying around in someone's trash. Newspapers have been cutting staff (about 18% between 1990 and 2004) and can no longer competently handle tasks like security. Newspapers simply can't compete with internet sources, and now their inability to do so is becoming a vicious cycle. The more subscribers newspapers lose, the more staff they cut, and the less they can accomplish.

The newspaper generation is dying out. Even those used to newspapers are turning to the internet for up-to-the-minute reports, realizing that in the time it takes to print a story, all the information might have changed.

If online news sources completely replace newspapers in the future, what can we expect? For all its advantages, online reporting doesn't beat newspapers in every category. Here are some of the things we've come to expect from news, and how both media stand up to the challenge.

Up-to-date information.

Here, online reporting beats newspapers hands down. News can now be reported literally as soon as it happens. While newspapers have to wait for the next issue to add information or make corrections, online news sources can do all this instantly.

Accurate information.

There are a few issues to consider here. Online news sources range from the Associated Press to anyone's blog. While both have equal access, they do not have equal influence.

One's temptation is to trust a newspaper more than online news sources as a whole, on the assumption that a randomly picked newspaper is more reputable than a randomly picked website. However, the long history of scandals in print reporting hints otherwise. Newspapers are huge organizations, and misinformation can easily fall through the cracks. A single blogger with good sources is less likely to forge the facts - unlike a traditional journalist, he's not in the middle of a highly competitive industry trying to make a living. More likely, he's just trying to get news out.

But newspapers have editors and other safeguards in place to make sure that the stories are accurate. While these sometimes fail, most websites and blogs have no moderation at all. Several months ago, celebrity gossipmonger Perez Hilton reported that Fidel Castro had died; he claimed that the press was waiting to officially release the news until rush hour in Miami had passed. Whether Hilton had a reliable source, or was just trying to drive traffic to his site, is unclear.

Entertaining and compelling presentation.

Journalists for major newspapers have years of education under their belt, and are usually picked for their skills and talent. Local newspapers, however, often have to settle for less. While you can expect a certain caliber of article from The Wall Street Journal, the same cannot be said of The Issaquah Press. Newspapers are not as hit-and-miss as blogs and websites; generally, you have an idea of the quality of article to expect.

With online news, there is a wide variety of reporters and commentators to choose from. Some are professional writers blogging in their spare time; others are amateurs with a passion for communication. Some are highly educated, and some are not. Regardless of background, an online reporter has the opportunity to become highly popular if there is enough talent and motivation. This leads to a much higher diversity and interesting points of view that would not be found in a newspaper.

So, what do we stand to lose?

Broadly speaking, if newspapers go under entirely, we will lose some of the credibility to which we are accustomed. However, in a way, the internet is a giant system of checks and balances. If you see something reported on one site, you can always check another; undoubtedly there will be discussion on controversial topics. Misinformation can only spread if people rely on a single source. Without newspapers, we will no longer have one single trustworthy entity. We will have to weed out the useless news ourselves. But even newspapers aren't foolproof, so maybe we're all better off finding out what's true for ourselves.