Roy writes that
The future of journalism, not just newspapers, depends upon such loyalty. And now I pose this challenge to you: It is your duty as a journalist and a citizen to read the newspaper -- emphasis on paper, not pixels.
I must admit I have a problem with what Roy is saying,does it matter how we read the journalistic material or is the fact that we are not paying for it directly,but Roy goes onto say
Who will pay for good reporters and editors? Who will pay to station them in statehouses, or send them to cover wars and disasters? Who will finance important investigations in support of the public's health and safety?
The comments to this piece are well worth a read(76 at the current count)-here is a snippet
Industries that dictate to customers how, when and where they should consume their content are doomed to failure.
Despite all the high minded talk about journalism and civic responsibility, the business part of the "newspaper business" is selling eyeballs to advertisers. If you're in that business, you have to make your content available to people when, where and how they want to consume it.
We shouldn't let the backlash to Roy's article let us miss the fact that he diagnosed a real and important problem: that the economic model of print newspapers is falling apart and not being replaced online. The destruction of the print business is leaving an online business too small to support the cost of creating original content at all but the largest scales.
Steve Borris as always give an alternative point of view as his priorities for journalists-well worth a read http://thefutureofnews.com/2007/10/12/4-even-more-important-duties-for-journalists-than-reading-the-paper/
Perhaps the best being "Get out there and compete" whose sentiments I totally agree with
Don’t just sit there and buy your own papers, but figure out what your customers want and make technology your friend.
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