No newspapers is like taking a cold shower

Marshall McLuhan, the late communications theorist and provocateur, once quipped: "People don't actually read newspapers - they get into them every morning like a hot bath." If the closing of daily newspapers continues unabated, however, readers may find they have to make do with the cold shower provided by radio, television, and the Internet.

writes Walter Fox at the Philidelphia Inquirer as he attempts to demonstrate the unique qualities of the printed word and adds that

Unlike books or magazines, newspapers are a communal medium. Traditional newspapers - if they are well-edited - force readers to confront the whole community whether they want to or not. Readers may purchase a newspaper to read the sports pages or find a good used car, but in the process they are forced to learn about a wide range of important issues, if only as headlines.

Good point

ht-newspaper project

Bad news day

Gordon Brown's six o clock phone calls must have had a certain amount of urgency this morning as the papers attack the government on all sides.

Notleast the home secretary as the Mail produces secret documents which

revealed that the Home Secretary was warned four months ago that thousands of illegal immigrants had been cleared to work in sensitive Whitehall security jobs.
But she accepted advice from her officials for a news blackout on the affair, secret memos have confirmed.

Its leader adding

for more than four months, she kept Parliament and public in the dark about this latest blunder by her department, branded "unfit for purpose" by her predecessor.
Incredibly, she kept silent even after she was told in August that no fewer than 5,000 illegal immigrants were involved - including 11 working at Scotland Yard and one who was employed to guard Gordon Brown's car.

The Express then firmly boots the boot in as its front page tells us

IMMIGRATION officials who presided over a year of blunders have been awarded almost £2million in bonuses.
Staff were handed the extra awards for 2005-06, shortly before then Home Secretary John Reid described the department as “not fit for purpose”.

From immigrants to alcholol,with all the papers carrying the report that

The government should consider making alcohol more expensive and reassess its 24-hour drinking laws to curb serious health problems related to excessive drinking, according to a group of experts.

the Guardian explaining that

In a review of public health policy, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics concluded that, left to themselves, people do not choose to live healthy lives, and the state must intervene to control behaviour. Lord Krebs, principal of Jesus College, Oxford, who chaired the council's review, said the government had a duty to help people make healthy choices. "We think it's too simplistic to say that it's all down to individual choice, because individuals often suffer ill health or adopt unhealthy behaviours for reasons beyond their control."

24-hour drinking has increased violence and 'must be scrapped' says the Mail.

But it doesnt stop there

The Telegraph has

The fastest rise in food prices for 14 years

The surging costs will be passed on to consumers, who are experiencing the highest food bills for years and could end up paying almost £1,000 extra on their annual food bill than a year ago.
Families are already struggling to cope with the effects of the credit crunch. Petrol prices exceed £1 for a litre of unleaded fuel, while mortgage payments and credit card fees are also rising.

The front page of the Times that

Police are neglecting to tackle serious, violent crimes and focusing instead on more minor offences as they strive to meet government targets, the man charged with shaping the future of policing in England and Wales has admitted.

And the Guardian that

'Failing' school reforms put Labour under pressure

And of cause and guess which paper

Property slump 'is worst for two years' yes the Mail

19th Century paper online

Brilliant news that the British Library is to digitize 19th newspapers(as reported by Press Gazette)

The library will launch its newspaper digitisation project next month, which will give readers access to electronic versions of every national, regional and locally important newspaper from 1800 to 1900. Though tailored for a further and higher education students and academics, general readers will be able to log on for a small subscription fee.

Over two million pages will be put online so let's wait for the site to crash

Give the public what they want

So what exactly are newspapers for.Follow the media reports on a study by the Seattle Times which asks its readers for their views about newspapers

This was one opinion

"The purpose of the newspaper has always been to keep people informed of events around the world as well as though in our backyard. Events that directly and indirectly affect us and the rest of humanity and our planet….The best newspapers are diligent, unbiased, and serve no one but their readers, the general public – not always telling them what they want to know, but what they NEED to know. If you do these things wholeheartedly you will offer the reader something the Internet cannot: substance …Do not underestimate the public"

The article though asks whether editors do realise this or whether they decide what the public wants to read.

I just had a quick look at the Seattle Times website and its lead story at the moment is from Iraq where a local battalion is fighting agaonst the insurgents.

Nearly 100 Strykers, armored troop carriers with 50-caliber machine guns, were called north from Baghdad to try — yet again — to rout Sunni insurgents, many who recently fled the month-old Baghdad security operation.
The 2nd Infantry Division's 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment is a component of the 3rd Brigade, a Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Lewis, south of Tacoma, that's on its second tour in Iraq.
Diyala province is quickly becoming as dangerous as Anbar province, the Sunni insurgent bastion west of Baghdad.

A good example of an international story with a local focus.

Back to the article though and editor Mike Fancher thought the main themes of the readers response were

• coping
• caring and
• connecting