Mar 17, 2009 7:59 pm US/Eastern
As Many Newspapers Fold; New Media Unfolds
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
-
-
The Christian Science Monitor which will replace its daily print edition with its Web site a week from Friday and put out a weekly magazine.
WBZ
Seattle is watching the disappearance of a 146-year-old American newspaper.
The final edition of the Post-Intelligencer rolled off the presses Monday night. It has shifted to the Web. "The Internet was already disrupting things and then you get this cyclical downturn which is making things worse," said John Yemma, editor of the Monitor which will replace its daily print edition with its Web site a week from Friday and put out a weekly magazine.
"The key for us, and I think the key for any news organization, is to control your costs, to use the Internet for maximum reach and work as efficiently as possible."
The Monitor is a church-financed non-profit but has reduced its staff, as have many for-profit newspapers. The P.I. had 181 employees. Its Web version will have 20 in the newsroom and 20 to sell ads. "There is a drastic loss of professional news gathering when you lay off reporters," said Tobe Berkovitz, PhD, who is Associate Dean of Boston University's College of Communication.
He says the school is trying to move into new ways of reporting with new media while maintaining traditional values and ethics. "The question is what will happen to society and democracy if you don't have good professionals covering the news."
What will readers lose beyond the tactile feel of a newspaper? Concern in newsrooms, as well as on the street, focuses on good reliable investigative reporting. "There's a lot of information on the Web but not all of it is correct," said a reader at Out of Town News in Harvard Square.
So, what about the future of papers such as the Boston Globe, which won a Pulitzer for exposing clergy abuse? John Yemma worked there 20 years and said it has a strong news tradition and a strong brand. "I think the Globe will survive as a newspaper...I don't think they're going to take a big a leap into all digital."
As other American newspaper fold their paper editions, one reader said today, it's just sad.
In Denver, The Rocky Mountain News closed at the end of last month. The Tucson Citizen is set to close Saturday if a buyer isn't found and the Miami Herald is up for sale.
The Boston Herald and the Globe declined interviews for our story today.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments