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-30-: The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper
The era of the big-city newspaper as a dependable beacon for the American people is over. Charles Madigan's -30- is the story of the decline of an important institution, the American newspaper, told in a collection of incisive pieces by practitioners of the art and craft of journalism. At heart it's an insider's story, but with serious and vast consequences in the world beyond the newsroom. -30- considers the impact of technology, management policy, and social values on the operations of the press and its changing marketplace.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2007
34 people want to read
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September 12, 2021
Madigan collected 15 commentaries on the continuing decline of the American newspaper industry and the woeful prospects for its improvement or survival.
The authors do not offer predictions, but the adverse circumstances they describe as existing or possible seem all too real almost 15 years later.
Community newspapers have mostly disappeared or shriveled in vitality and importance.
Big city newspapers have been transformed into cash conduits by profit-seeking money managers, who as a group don’t care about doing or preserving the legacy concept of journalism as “a public watchdog.”
At every level of government, from township zoning hearing board to U.S. Congress, fewer and fewer reporters—or no reporters—are showing up to observe what’s going on and report it to a citizenry that historically has never wanted to pay the full cost of getting “the news.”
The basic business model of newspaper owners today is: soak the aging, shriveling group of home delivery subscribers for as much as they will pay, and soak the shriveling group of newspaper advertisers for as much as they will pay, for as long as they’re willing to pay. One by one, newspapers are disappearing.
For example, the seven-day home delivery price of The Boston Globe is about $25/week, or almost $1,300/year.
Do you remember how much a newspaper cost when you were a kid?
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
The authors do not offer predictions, but the adverse circumstances they describe as existing or possible seem all too real almost 15 years later.
Community newspapers have mostly disappeared or shriveled in vitality and importance.
Big city newspapers have been transformed into cash conduits by profit-seeking money managers, who as a group don’t care about doing or preserving the legacy concept of journalism as “a public watchdog.”
At every level of government, from township zoning hearing board to U.S. Congress, fewer and fewer reporters—or no reporters—are showing up to observe what’s going on and report it to a citizenry that historically has never wanted to pay the full cost of getting “the news.”
The basic business model of newspaper owners today is: soak the aging, shriveling group of home delivery subscribers for as much as they will pay, and soak the shriveling group of newspaper advertisers for as much as they will pay, for as long as they’re willing to pay. One by one, newspapers are disappearing.
For example, the seven-day home delivery price of The Boston Globe is about $25/week, or almost $1,300/year.
Do you remember how much a newspaper cost when you were a kid?
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
Displaying 1 of 1 review