Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Cross Country Checkup

Can newspapers survive ...what do you want from a newspaper?

Newspapers in decline? The Globe and Mail announced it will end delivery to the whole province of Newfoundland and Labrador because it costs too much ...and the same for several northern B.C. communities.  Is this another step in the slow demise of newspapers? Will electronic news fill the gap?With guest host Ted Blades...
CBC Radio ·
Newspapers in decline? The Globe and Mail announced it will end delivery to the whole province of Newfoundland and Labrador because it costs too much ...and the same for several northern B.C. communities. 

Is this another step in the slow demise of newspapers? Will electronic news fill the gap?

With guest host Ted Blades



Guests and Links      Mail       Download mp3 (right click and choose 'Save Target As')    


Introduction

Saturday mornings in St. John's I get on the go, grab some Georgetown bagels and some black-bean hummus and a copy of the Globe and Mail.

Then it's home to make coffee and spread the Globe out on the kitchen table, handing my wife the section she likes to start with and settling down with the rest of the paper myself.

The crinkling of the paper, the ability to fold it to highlight the article I'm reading is part of the physical pleasure of read the Globe and Mail but it's a pleasure soon to be taken from us, which leads me to today's topic.

In a week where Canada's self-described 'national newspaper' announces the paper will no longer be shipped to Newfoundland and Labrador as well as parts of northern B.C.; the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper puts up a paywall; the San Francisco Chronicle takes down its paywall after only four months; and the Washington Post is bought by the CEO of Amazon, you know that newspapers are struggling to find their way ... even the big ones.

Why are they struggling? Is it because people have stopped buying them ... they'd rather read for free online? Is it because advertisers are pulling out after deciding they're no longer getting a big enough bang for their bucks? Or is it because their relevance to the lives of people in the 21st century has waned?

Are you looking for different things in the age of social media and instant news?

Over the past several years, the list of newspapers that have closed their doors has become a long one.... many of them after decades of service to their communities.

Some, such as the respected Christian Science Monitor instead chose to move entirely online. Many other newpapers, most in fact, are wrestling with the best way to offer their news and commentary online without canibalizing their main event ... the actual newspaper.

The lastest trend sees newspapers erecting paywalls to boost their declining revenues; trying to get online readers to pay for something they once read for free. But that's a risky business as the San Francisco Chronicle discovered as readers melted away taking advertisers with them.

So... If newpapers are one of the important pillars of a democratic society ... the fourth estate that holds government to account and ferrets out corruption and malfeasance everywhere ... what happens when money troubles force them to cut back?

Fewer beats, fewer reporters, fewer pages, smaller presence. Does it weaken the whole system, if only a little?

And what about the online venues where success is often measured in page and story clicks because that's what the bean counters want to see?

Will pictures of cute kittens beat out stories of government wrongdoing or coverage of complex policy issues?

We want to know what you think. Does it matter if you get your news on sheets of paper or on a screen?

Do you prefer the nimble nature of the new media with its around-the-clock updates and its easy interaction with social media?

Our topic: Can the newspaper survive? Does it matter ... and, what do you want from a newspaper?

I'm Ted Blades ...on CBC Radio One ...and on Sirius satellite radio channel 169 ...this is Cross Country Checkup.

Guests



  • Phillip Crawley
    Publisher of The Globe and Mail


  • Steve Ladurantaye
    Media reporter for the Globe and Mail. Twitter: @sladurantaye


  • Kelly Toughill
    Director of the school of journalism at King's, The J-Source business of journalism editor. She has just completed a research project on paywalls in Canadian online news. Twitter: @ktoughill


  • David Skok
    Director, Digital, Global News and co-author of the Nieman report "Breaking News" which studies the economics of the Journalism industry. Twitter: @dskok


  • John Temple
    Senior fellow at Stanford University, former managing editor of the Washington Post, former publisher and editor of the Denver Rocky Mountain News, and way way back a reporter at the Toronto Star. Twitter: @jtemplejrnalist




Links

CBC.ca

National Post

Globe and Mail

Huffington Post

J-source.ca

Washington Post

The Guardian

San Francisco Chronicle

Boing Boing

Up Here Business

The Week

Slate

Metro West Daily News

MIT Communications Forum

PhysOrg News



E-mail
A number of your callers touched on the key issue: the demise of quality writing and journalism. Newsrooms have been under attack for decades now - it's not a new phenomena. Staff journalists have been cut, and freelancer journalists and columnists (of which there are many appearing in each paper) have seen their rates plummet. The trend is not new. rather, It goes back to the mid 1980s.

There are a lot of issues facing news organizations, but in large part, the decline of Canadian newspapers is a self-inflicted wound.

Michael
Thunder Bay, Ontario


Here is an old joke you may want to use during today show: A Toronto man vacationing in St. John's sees a sign in a store window that says "Globe and Mail Here". Entering the store, he asks the shop keeper if he can get a copy of the newspaper.  The shop keeper replies, "Of course you can get the Globe and Mail here. Do you want today's edition or tomorrow's edition?" The vacationer responds, "I would like today's Globe and Mail" to which the shopkeeper says, "Well then, you'll have to come in tomorrow".

James
Breckenridge, Quebec


How about this as an alternative model: Instead of selling content direct to readers (which is not economic, especially in a print version), why not sell their content to local papers, who can then make it part of their content? A Globe and Mail section in the St. John's Telegram, if you please.

Patrick
St. John's, Newfoundland


Libraries frequently offer access to newspapers, even those with online paywalls. I encourage everyone to get a library card and explore their local library's website. Many offer databases of content of many newspapers. Some also offer access to the day's issue of the local paper.

Jon
Toronto, Ontario


The public has become more sophisticated and realizes that all media is not there to inform us but rather to influence us. At the basic level they seek to influence us to buy their sponsors' products. The content is merely to catch our attention. At a worse level, they have abdicated the role you mentioned in your intro of holding the government accountable. The selection of what is news is so partisan that study after study shows virulent slants that many people see through. Finally, we are trying to reduce the overwhelming tsunami of paper that enters our homes.

Ken
Simi Valley, California, U.S.A.


I am an independent community newspaper owner. Community newspapers are doing very well, thriving in many areas of the country. Don't throw us all in with some large city dailies.

Paul
Montague, Prince Edward Island


I recently bought a new phone at a retailer located next to a busy rail line. I asked the clerk (about 25 years old) if it bothered him to work so close to a rail track. I was referring to the sad event at Lac Magantic. He told me he got used to the noise and doesn't hear them anymore. I asked if he had heard about the tragedy. He had no idea what I was talking about. We had a brief discussion about how people get informed. He showed me a very capable smart phone but used it for many things but not news as we know it. Printed news is in decline. New formats are developing.

Dave
Weyburn, Saskatchewan


Personally, I look for a paper which does not condone plagiarism, holds government to account and does not endorse a party which makes a mockery of democracy. We have two right-wing national papers and yet the electorate are two-thirds liberal or left-leaning. As a Canadian resident, my only choice for a decent national newspaper is the Guardian.

Nick


If newspapers all go online then what alternatives do we have for lining the bottom of bird cages, house training puppies and fire-starter for wood stoves? The national newspapers tend to express an urban bias. I get my news elsewhere.

John
Robson Valley East, British Columbia


The only people who have time to read an actual newspaper (Monday to Friday) are either retired or in posh jobs where they can slack off and take the time to read it. I'm in my mind 30's and I know no one that reads a physical paper.
 
Corey
Moncton, New Brusnwick


We started a community paper two years ago and we're doing great. We've been number one in our market for the last six months against the major chains. There will always be a market for quality journalism. As for digital vs. paper, what you save on printing you lose on revenue and online marketing. There's something about the permanence of paper that makes it a compelling product. The medium is, after all, the message. The chains have systematically killed paper by focusing on short term financial results.

Bram
Haliburton, Ontario


No one has talked about the proliferation of free newspapers. There are two in Vancouver and they are being picked up and read by commuters. I hardly ever see a transit user with a paid newspaper because they are all reading the free ones.

Pat
White Rock, British Columbia


I would like to have the Globe and Mail delivered again but it is so expensive and takes up my whole life to read it. And ever since they started to use coated paper and lots of colour I find the vibe all wrong for reading a paper. Plus, the sense of environmental waste that it brings with it makes it repulsive. Online is better for the environment (I say to myself as I peel a kilo of ads off the local paper).

Ann
Toronto, Ontario


I would like to know more about the relative costs of digital and paper versions of newspapers. Despite considerable media attention to the shift taking place very little attention has been paid to this fundamental issue. Surely it is much less expensive to produce, post, print and deliver digital media. Surely it is not necessary to replace all of the revenue lost if costs are much lower. Personally, I much prefer digital newspapers and would be quite prepared to pay a subscription if it included several international papers like the New York Times, UK's Guardian and the Globe and Mail.

David


I will take an interest, again, in reading daily newspapers when they quit pandering to the prurient interest of an under-stimulated public by focusing on pillage, rape and arson. This is a public which pays more attention to reality television, mindless sitcoms and the lives of the rich and famous. On the other hand, I read my small-town weekly from stem to gudgeon, because it focuses on local issues and items of interest. For national and international news, I rely upon CBC Radio One.

eith
Ridgetown, Ontario


I am a 29-year old who has been reading newspapers since I was about six. My brother and I would read it on the floor before school. Now I get most of my news on the Internet and I think people my age will never look to papers for hard news. What I want in a paper is features, essays, investigative work and smart opinion pieces - more like a magazine than a traditional newspaper, and something I can read on the subway or in the backyard. The best option I've found is the New York Times, which also has a great website. I feel guilty not supporting Canadian journalism, but even the Globe isn't comparable right now.

Evan
Ottawa, Ontario


Will we return to reading a single newspaper from a single source as opposed to reading widely and having access to additional information about any issue? Not likely. I get my news from the Globe and Mail, San Francisco Chronicle, Deutsche Welle, Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, the UK Guardian, Al Jazeera, Vancouver Sun, etc. I will never again be satisfied with single-source news.

One of your speakers had it right. The expensive-to-produce paper versions will disappear. But new and better models will take their place. News itself will not disappear. The creative, innovative news providers will survive. Those stuck in the old model will not. At 67 years of age, I welcome the change.

Cathryn
Kelowna, British Columbia


I like to say the one constant in life is change. The electronic version of newspapers will be the norm within the next five years.  One major challenge will be to make certain these publications will be accessible to more than 280,000 blind and partially sighted Canadians, using screen reading software. Remember, access delayed is equality denied.
 
Dean
Windsor, Ontario


The focus is all about the Globe and Mail. What about the National Post? Will its subscriptions increase?

Allan
Calgary, Alberta


Some say the demise of newspapers is inevitable, yet in my hometown, Vancouver, I see more newspapers being published than ever before. Two weekly papers, primarily for entertainment, three big dailies and also the newest additions: two small papers designed for commuters. They seem to be surviving just fine, although they're not particularly good papers. Personally I like the larger papers, but find no time to read a full paper every day I would be happy to read smaller versions of the dailies. Time for them to downsize, perhaps, but stay in print. And yes, accountability in politics is very important in terms of having news sources, and the dailies and the CBC are my preferred sources.

Daphne
Vancouver, British Columbia


I work in communications, largely on web sites and social media. We see our job as getting people the information they need as quickly and efficiently as possible so they can get on with their days. You never hear people complain they can't find out enough about a topic online. We need less, not more information. We need carefully curated feeds of topics that are important to us. We need trustworthy and local sources to do that. One caller mentioned in-depth reporting and maybe that's the content that stays in print, like a newspaper. But for daily news, I want to get in, get up-to-date and get out.

Start looking at how people treat the news and help them achieve their goals rather than pushing out more content because that's what you think they want. The last time I bought the Globe and Mail it took me a week to read through it. I don't have time to sit at my table every morning and read a book, which is what the Globe felt like. Most of the stories didn't interest me.

Jill
Guelph, Ontario


With a real newspaper you can go outside, to a patio, a balcony or a park and read it for as long as you want without worrying about battery power. You can rip stuff out to read later, to share or to post on the fridge and you can write on the page, your thoughts, your guess and do Sudoku and crosswords. And you can share it once you're done. Try doing that with an Ipad. I love the paper and always will.

Sharon
Kitchener, Ontario


The Globe and Mail, along with other Canadian Newspapers, was complicit in toeing away Newfoundland and Labrador's raw natural resources for other provinces of Canada to create vibrant economies over the past 64 years, thus enabling them to also grow their population base while diminishing Newfoundland and Labrador's. And now what do they do in thanks? They abandon distribution in the province because it is too expensive to deliver the newspaper. The province was exploited of its wonderful natural resources, for instance fish utilized by Ottawa as the conductor for international trade, hydro-electric energy, minerals of all types, iron ore that built the manufacturing industry of Canada, nickel ore exported out to keep the smelters of Sudbury, Ontario and Thompson, Manitoba percolating for another 30 years, oil refined outside of Newfoundland and Labrador, etc., etc. Thanks Globe and Mail for showing your true colors.

A.N.
St. John's, Newfoundland


The Globe cancelling delivery to Newfoundland and Labrador is another symptom of a larger problem; that is the relevance of printed news in today's digital world. This struggle is nothing new, but there are a couple of things I want to share that pop immediately to mind.

Every day, I bounced between the CBC, Globe and Mail, Huffington Post and Guardian websites to get my news. I've noticed over the past few months that when I read the news printed in a local paper the next day, the information seems stale. It feels like I've known all of this breaking news forever. This is compounded by fewer and fewer investigative journalists working at each paper. What appears in print are either re-spun, syndicated churn-alism stories or local fluff pieces.

I know that sales are slumping and that advertising pays for print, but as papers are forced to cut back on journalists, writers, editors and columns, the advertising to news ratio is getting thrown way out of whack. Reading a major paper is like reading an Ikea catalog, without the dreamy contemplation at every page. Essentially, half of each paper (the half paying the bills) goes right into the recycle bin.

As a teacher, I used to order class sets of our local newspaper for the kids to read to look for current events and Science news. I had to stop because I couldn't come up with enough papier maché projects to make use of all of the flyers and entertainment "news" that arrived every day. I switched to a digital version of the paper for my class last year and it was too hard for kids to log in and navigate so I stopped bringing the paper into my class.

It's clear that the printed news is going through some kind of adolescence or mid-life crisis. I love the textural quality of interacting with the written word, but I think we're seeing the slide of daily newspapers towards weekly news magazines towards something totally different. For now, this does nothing for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador or those folks in small towns where the big papers are no longer available. I hope Googling news is okay for these Canadians.

Dan
Calgary, Alberta


What about the loss of a widely distributed, written account of the past? If all news is electronic, that is easily modified, won't it be easier to change the past?

Terry


With online newspapers would we be able to print out the crossword puzzles? And how about the comics - would they still be available?

Joan
Vancouver, British Columbia


What I want is integrity in investigative reporting. I cannot count the times that I have telephoned newspapers and TV stations during the speaking tours of three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominated Dr. David Ray Griffin, who has written ten scholarly books on 9/11. The person on the news desk will often say they will send a reporter or a TV camera, but it always gets blocked from higher up.

And yet the evidence from the 2,000 member organization Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth that the Twin Towers and adjacent Building 7 were brought down by controlled demolition is simply undeniable. And the 32 consensus points of the 24-member academic 9/11 Consensus Panel, which uses a medical model to review evidence, is also undeniable. This panel has honorary members that include a British MP, a former German cabinet minister, and the Honorary President of the Italian Supreme Court. Yet no newspaper or TV station will report its evidence.

Dr. David Ray Griffin's book "The New Pearl Harbor Revisited" was named "Pick of the Week" by Publishers Weekly in 2008 (only 51 books a year receive this distinction) yet it was never reviewed within the corporate media. Look on Twitter to see how people feel about this. They are not stupid and they know that the corporate media is on a tight leash.

That is one example of why newspapers are dying. They do not even look at, or begin to tell the truth about central issues such as 9/11, the Middle East conflicts, and the urgency of addressing global warming. So rather than listen to weeks on end of bread-and-circus coverage of artificially blown up side issues, people go to Al Jazeera and RT (Russia Today) and independent investigative journalists such as John Pilger and Robert Fisk for first-hand coverage of what is actually happening on the ground around the world. 

Elizabeth
Victoria, British Columbia