Nope not even journalism.

It is no secret that the time honored tradition of print journalism is going the way of the American Bison circa 1890… nearly extinct. Now in its death throes, we were asked to read a series of articles focusing on the decline of newspapers and what can be done about it.

I’d argue there really isn’t much to be done about it, but since I don’t want to send some of the newspaper aficionados to a corner where they will curl in the fetal position and rock back and forth, let’s just humor them, read the articles and see just what can be done.

The first article I read was from Media Life Magazine. It was an interview with David T. Clark, an analyst of publishing and advertising for Deutsche Bank Securities. He seems to paint the rosiest picture of the industry suggesting that the current financial crisis facing newspapers is just an economic downturn. As if there will be an upturn. I struggled with his analysis for several reasons. First, if 70% of income comes from non classified business ads, the why is he lamenting the loss of classified ads so much.  Second, he implies that the situation is cyclical and that the future of newspapers will improve as the economy improves. Why? Because that is what happened in the past? Most savvy investors know: past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Clark suggests that one of the saving graces for newspapers, but by no means their only source of salvation, is local coverage.

This sentiment is repeated Ben Leubsdorf in his article “Can Print Newspapers Survive?”

Leubsdorf quotes Frank Pine who might be a little too optimistic, “There’s no other news media that covers communities like community print newspapers,” he said. “Who else is going to the city council meeting?”

…um http://www.seattlechannel.org/

Another strength of newspapers is their integrity. He quotes Vicki Gowler from the Idaho Statesmen: “Online, particularly with blogs, and particularly anonymously, has been able to do a lot of stuff without being accountable. We’re accountable,” she said. “I’d rather be later with the story and be right than rush it out there…that is going to distinguish us over time.”

Of course over in West Seattle they have a blog that is full of Journalistic integrity.

But maybe Luebsdorf isn’t so sure about the future of newspapers since he also quotes Paul Gillin of Newspaper Death Watch: “There is no hope for the major metropolitan U.S. newspaper industry. No hope. Run away…it will be gone in 20 years.”

Both Articles also suggest that newspapers can survive if they can find a way to appeal to a younger and broader audience. Currently the largest audience for print newspapers is older people and Baby Boomers. They must find a way to appeal to the Gen X’ers and the Millennial’s who are now the largest generation. This reminds me of the classic Aesop fable ‘The Miller, The Son, and the Donkey’. “He who tries to please everybody pleases nobody.”

What seems to be missing from all the articles is the possibility that newspapers are not meant to survive. More importantly, many people are suggesting that professional journalism and newspapers are a necessary component of society and that some how we all would be worse off with out them. Based on the information in Vin Crosbie’s article “Transforming American Newspapers” in 1604 the print Newspaper industry was nonexistent. That was only 400 years ago, or in geologic time, a blink of the eye.

I was reminded by one of my Philosophy professors that sometimes, we, (humanity) hold a little too fast to tradition and use it as an excuse to maintain the status quo, not allowing ourselves to see a bigger picture. His example: If you ever get stuck listening to a snob at a dinner party wax eloquently about how his family has been a member of an exclusive county club for four generations, it is your duty to point to them that 5 generations ago they were not members, and that they might not be members one generation from now.

Blogger Scott Karp of Publishing 2.0 expresses this thought so much better than I can:

The Market and The Internet Don’t Care if you make money.

To put it another way, bison hunter was a viable career in the late 1800’s and when it started to decline, there was lots of moaning and gnashing of teeth at the time, but no one is complaining about it now are they?