# Here is the future of newspapers. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 28, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114 "2009-03-28T19:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/21 "2009-03-29T18:05:54Z")
The first think that I do every morning is turn on my iPhone and look at Yahoo! News. Maybe I’m in the minority. I think that anyone who is willing to cart around a Kindle already has a smart phone or lap top that they cart around. Maybe that would change if fifty thousand people got free Kindles but I just don’t see it. It’s one of those great ideas in concept but not reality. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/22 "2009-03-29T18:10:47Z")
Our only paper has been reduced to what amounts to a pamphlet on most days. They’ve slashed and cut (even the weather forecast is only 3 days now) it to the bone and are probably still losing money. I give it another year or two. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/23 "2009-03-29T18:13:31Z")
All this talk of Kindle and the iPhone is nice, but you’re all still missing the point. Publishers aren’t interested in these devices, because they can’t make money off of them. You can make Facebook widgets and iPhone apps and get your paper on Kindle, but none of those things will bring in the ad revenue that just one print edition of the newspaper does. Yes, it costs money to print and distribute a newspaper, but print ads bring in hundreds or thousands of dollars apiece. There is no revenue model for online advertising that comes anywhere close to what print is bringing in. Even when you eliminate the distribution and printing costs, you can’t translate the revenue from print advertising to the web. Newspapers are not news delivery devices that happen to have advertising in them. They are advertising delivery devices that happen to have news in them. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/24 "2009-03-29T18:15:58Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > We have a local paper that covers muggings and high school athletics. it tosses in a bit of local politics too. I have not heard they are in trouble… But they probably are. Classified ads used to be a serious source of revenue, but Craig’s List has pretty well killed that (being much better at the job). Most print media are now entering their death spiral. (McClatchy stock price has fallen from around 60 to around .60 in a couple of years.) It will take some time to fully shake out, but the long-term prospects are bleak. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/25 "2009-03-29T18:18:53Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The first think that I do every morning is turn on my iPhone and look at Yahoo! News. Maybe I’m in the minority. I think that anyone who is willing to cart around a Kindle already has a smart phone or lap top that they cart around. I’m smart enough to do it - but I’m also practical. My smart phone has the data connection disabled - I synch up only at home over Bluetooth, for free. The Kindle content just shows up on the screen after I purchase it or order it, generally. I don’t have to hit many buttons to do that. This system is almost ideal for the elderly, frankly, and the data plan is included in the original purchase and in the cost of the ebooks. I don’t have to pay extra. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/26 "2009-03-29T18:31:16Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The first think that I do every morning is turn on my iPhone and look at Yahoo! News. Maybe I’m in the minority. I think that anyone who is willing to cart around a Kindle already has a smart phone or lap top that they cart around. Maybe that would change if fifty thousand people got free Kindles but I just don’t see it. It’s one of those great ideas in concept but not reality. The first thing I think when I grab my G1 is to check my calender to see what I need to do. Then I check a couple of my favorite online comics. We have different priorities. Actually I lied the first thing I think when I grab my G1 in the morning is to hit the snooze button on the bastard alarm program and go back to sleep, in 10 minute increments, for as long as I can get away with. The thing about online comics and yahoo news is your local newspaper doesn’t get a cut. Where as if you looked at Garfield on a device you were paying them money to use they’d get a cut. That’s the interest for them. Now Kindles are new technology so of course anyone with a kindle is prolly a technophile. Just like digital cameras where only for technophiles. Now who doesn’t have a digicam? Real solid books have advantages over ebooks, but what does a newsreader have against something as disposable as a newspaper? A whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/27 "2009-03-29T18:42:07Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > If all you’re going to read is a few pages of Sports, why in the hell 1) can’t you find that same information online, to 2) save money, and 3) save energy and resources by not taking 2 pounds of ink and paper and essentially throwing it directly in the trash, minus one section? Harder to bring the computer into the bathroom with you… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/28 "2009-03-29T19:04:03Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Harder to bring the computer into the bathroom with you… You are wrong. My post is my cite. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/29 "2009-03-29T19:11:03Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > All this talk of Kindle and the iPhone is nice, but you’re all still missing the point. Publishers aren’t interested in these devices, because they can’t make money off of them. You can make Facebook widgets and iPhone apps and get your paper on Kindle, but none of those things will bring in the ad revenue that just one print edition of the newspaper does. > > Yes, it costs money to print and distribute a newspaper, but print ads bring in hundreds or thousands of dollars apiece. There is no revenue model for online advertising that comes anywhere close to what print is bringing in. Even when you eliminate the distribution and printing costs, you can’t translate the revenue from print advertising to the web. > > Newspapers are not news delivery devices that happen to have advertising in them. They are advertising delivery devices that happen to have news in them. That’s anther argument for kindle like devices vs smart phones/PCs. With a device they have control of they can put out higher quality ads\* (think motion, reactive, and targeted). They’d have the same distribution, and better reach without the costs of paper and ink. The only people who wouldn’t see the ADs would be the ones smart enough to hack their reader. Those people prolly wouldn’t respond to the ADs anyway \*by higher quality I clearly mean evil, but think from the paper’s ad revenue perspective here ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/30 "2009-03-29T19:11:29Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Harder to bring the computer into the bathroom with you… My iPhone is way easier to bring to the can than a newspaper. Hypothetically, of course… ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/31 "2009-03-29T21:01:06Z")
News papers are NOT Green, they are also creators of greenhouse gases. The disposal f newspapers is a big problem, and the preparation of wood pulp (for paper) pollutes rivers and sreams. So, I guess that the death of the newspapers is a OOD thing; Al Gore would approve it! ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/32 "2009-03-30T00:38:22Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > You can? > Crossword puzzle people like a familiarity. We do the NYT puzzle because it has a degree of difficulty and we know what it is likely to be like. Just aimlessly doing puzzles does not get it. Hello! > **[The New York Times Ultimate Crossword Omnibus: 1,001 Puzzles from The New York...](https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Ultimate-Crossword-Omnibus/dp/0312316224)** > > The New York Times Ultimate Crossword Omnibus: 1,001 Puzzles from The New York Times \[The New York Times, New York Times, The, Shortz, Will\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The New York Times Ultimate Crossword Omnibus: 1,001... You can even get Sunday-only versions if you’re a brainiac. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/33 "2009-03-30T00:42:41Z")
As part of the new package they are now running the L.A. Times puzzles every day. I am not familiar with them. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/34 "2009-03-30T01:02:12Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > You can? > Crossword puzzle people like a familiarity. We do the NYT puzzle because it has a degree of difficulty and we know what it is likely to be like. Just aimlessly doing puzzles does not get it. Hmm… a real life puzzle snob. As for the books, I’m sure there are levels of difficulty, possibly even more difficult than what you’re used do. If you would search them out, I’m confident you could find what you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/35 "2009-03-30T03:40:12Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I’ll show you the future of newspapers: A boot stamping on ad copy, forever. Ah… I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/36 "2009-03-30T03:53:13Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Ah… I see what you did there. Thank you. I wonder how many people remember that line. It obviously made an impression on me. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/37 "2009-03-30T04:00:54Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Supposedly the New York Times could buy ever subscriber an Amazon Kindle and stop using paper and ink and come out ahead in a year. Then why did they sell their building and now rent it? > [@hajario](#): > > I learned to read by reading the L.A. Times. I read practically the whole paper every day during my High School years. I had it delivered to my dorm in college in San Diego and then to the various shared apartments and houses during college and grad school. Even when I was dirt poor during certain times as a starving student, I kept up my subscription. I got my first professional job in Santa Barbara and one of the first things I did was get the Times delivery started. I took the paper to work and read it while I ate my lunch. > > From the age of maybe 14 to my mid-30’s, other than when I was traveling out of town, I read the L.A. Times every day. Then I got internet access at home and at work. I found that many days, the entire paper went unread. Who the hell needs news that is sixteen hours out of date? What use is the sports page if the Dodger game went into extra innings and the final result isn’t available? I finally gave up my subscription. I wouldn’t even take it if it was free because it would just go to waste. > > It’s a shame, I guess, for people in the industry but the world has moved on. Large city newspapers are obsolete. Done. Over. The sooner you get used to it, the better. Unfortunately the new owners of the L.A. Times screwed over its staff in a despicable way. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/38 "2009-03-30T04:04:56Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Unfortunately the new owners of the L.A. Times screwed over its staff in a despicable way. I don’t know anything about this but is there a good way to fire people because their jobs are no longer necessary? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/39 "2009-03-30T04:08:16Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Thank you. I wonder how many people remember that line. It obviously made an impression on me. Well, that IS what a boot stamping forever WOULD do. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114/40 "2009-03-30T05:07:57Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Hmm… a real life puzzle snob. > > As for the books, I’m sure there are levels of difficulty, possibly even more difficult than what you’re used do. If you would search them out, I’m confident you could find what you’re looking for. Tried that with my mom. She doesn’t want to have 100 Puzzles, Easy to Hard! in a book. She wants to do her puzzle a day, and then wait til the next day to double check her answers if she missed something. She’s not a puzzle addict…she just likes to do a puzzle a day. I know my mom’s demographic is not what the advertisers are looking for. And I know that advertising income is what fuels the newspaper business. But papers have been with us for so long, since before advertising ran the world. They will be missed. Electronic news is only as good as the electrical systems that power them, and we’ve seen how easily we can be hoaxed, or misinformed. And I find that with a newspaper, I find myself reading and learning about things I would never even click on on the computer. I read so much less important stuff on the web than I get in one daily paper, just because I can get through the paper quicker than waiting for pages to load. Plus we recycle every single newspaper we get. So we aren’t tossing them in landfills. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-the-future-of-newspapers/491114.md?page=3)