Why Newspapers Are Dying
March 24th, 2009 by ComputerBob
Years ago, I predicted that the Internet would eventually turn public libraries into “book mausoleums.”
For almost a decade, I thought that my prediction had come true.
But what I hadn’t anticipated was that many public libraries would start to reinvent themselves into “public living rooms.”
My city’s new, multimillion-dollar public library sells food and drinks, and has games, movies and a long schedule of weekly activities for children and teens — with more than enough ambient noise and distractions to drive away anyone who’s trying to read or study.
Oh yeah — and it also has books.
It’s no longer “a book mausoleum.”
But it’s also no longer a library — at least not the type of library that Marian the Librarian would ever recognize — or want to work in.
Is that a good thing? Apparently, the powers-that-be believe that it is.
In much the same way as libraries, newspapers face an uncertain future, due in large part to the influence of the Internet.
They’ve tried to do several things to reinvent themselves.
But many newspapers have already died, while others are imploding.
Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable offers an interesting explanation for why newspapers are dying, and speculates about what will take their place.
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