Twitter
Why read a 5,000-word article when you can get all the news you need in 140 characters or less? Twitter has created a platform in which news is spread rapidly and efficiently, and has amassed millions and millions of followers.
Facebook
Sharing information with friends has the added benefit of tailoring your news to meet your interests, and weeding out things that may not be relevant to your life. Plus it has more links to pictures of cats doing silly things.
TV and the 24-hour news cycle
TV news agencies have infiltrated our homes with the 24-hour news cycle, in which anchors continuously feed us a constant stream of news (although sometimes it’s more of blathering to fill airtime rather than actual stories). Breaking news, snazzy graphics, interactive imagery — it’s heady stuff.
Online availability
All of the same information that the newspaper has to offer is available online in a simpler, more palatable format. All physical papers offer their content online — and thanks to incognito windows, it’s incredibly easy to circumnavigate the article limit most of them try to impose. Plus, newspapers are really hard to fold.
The thirst for immediacy
Newspapers are limited in that they’re publishing daily, meaning breaking news has to wait until the morning before it can be printed. When it comes to disasters, victories, tragedies, or sports miracles, we want it fast, and we want it now.
Smartphones and tablets
Linking in with online availability, we can now access the news from wherever we are — assuming it has a 3G or WiFi connection. Why would you drag yourself up and out to the driveway or corner store to pick up the paper when you can plug in from the comfort of your own bed?
Cheaper and more effective advertising sources
Advertisers have realized the decline of the newspaper is imminent, and many have jumped ship for better options. Website advertising is significantly easier and more effective, and has the bonus of reaching millions more than the circulation of an average paper could ever hope to.
The death of the classifieds
Another money maker for newspapers used to be the classifieds, but they’ve all left for greener pastures as well. Websites such as Craigslist, TradeMe, and more offer free advertising for buying and selling merchandise (and the occasional “personal service”), and again are viewed by millions more each day.
The journalist middle man
Journalists used to be viewed as a type of middle man between experts and the public, researching information and recording it in a palatable format before disseminating it to the masses. But now with the prevalence of blogs, any expert can just do that and not have to worry about being misquoted. Having a platform for one’s opinions and beliefs has never been easier.
Cynicism and apathy
Maybe we just don’t care about the news anymore. Thoughts?
