The newspaper killer.

I'll admit, being a young, frivolous 20 something year old, I very rarely rush to my nearest newspaper stand and grab the newest copy of the paper.  In fact, I really don't engage in news reading much at all, which is something I'm ashamed to say.  You could say that the reason for the decline in newspapers is because of people like me.  Young people who have always had a different medium for acquiring their news.  Young people who would rather read news from an electric glowing screen called an iPhone, than off of a piece of paper.

I say that the vast advancements in technology are responsible for leaving newspapers sulking in the corner, jealousy pouring from every pore of their skin.  Being a 21-year-old who recently started taking classes on the evolution of news and media, I decided that I don't know nearly enough to tell someone "I told you so!"  I figured I better do a little research before I start pointing fingers.

What is the real reason for the decline in newspapers?

I discovered an interesting article written by Jay Yarow on CNN that talked about the influence of advertisers.  It was a surprise to read that many people blame blogs for the rapid decrease of newspapers.  Until I began writing my own blog, I wouldn't even have known where to begin looking for news in the blog world.  I'm still unsure how to do that.  Others blame sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  These sites don't give you world news, rather, they tell you what your sister is doing or which one of your friends is engaging in what George Carlin called, “involuntary personal protein spill” the morning after drinking at the local watering hole.

Advertisers have moved to bigger and better things, like the internet.

The article focused most of its attention on advertisers, and their extremely stealthy influence on everything news and media.  Advertisers are "fleeing newspapers for the greener, cheaper pastures of the internet" according to Yarow.  They have left newspapers and are now providing their wonderful services to the internet. 

It makes sense.  My professor told us earlier in the year that advertising is a big part of most newspapers income.  If a newspaper couldn't make the vast amount of income it needed when it was popular, it will obviously struggle when its main form of income bolts for the new, better looking girl in town.  I am simply amazed at how secretively they are doing it.  Framing blogs and social networking?  That is ingenious, if you ask me.