Looking at the Newspaper World Through Rose-Colored Glasses

And seeing everything in black and white, ironically.

Link to July 22 Alternet.org post, "The Internet Is No Substitute for the Dying Newspaper Industry".

Excerpt:

Newspapers, when well run, are a public trust. They provide, at their best, the means for citizens to examine themselves, to ferret out lies and the abuse of power by elected officials and corrupt businesses, to give a voice to those who would, without the press, have no voice, and to follow, in ways a private citizen cannot, the daily workings of local, state and federal government. Newspapers hire people to write about city hall, the state capital, political campaigns, sports, music, art and theater.

I think it's fair to say that few newspapers are "well run" anymore, and perhaps not that many, upon close inspection, ever were. (How long does it take you to read the Wisconsin State Journal, for example? How long did it take to read it 20 years ago? And remember the Milwaukee Sentinel? You'd have thought it was published in a community of 5,000, instead of one with more than half million residents.) Mr. Hedges seems to forget that newspaper owners are beholden to their advertisers, which leads to censorship and the need for reporting like this and this and this.

In this age of news-reporting as transcription, it's more important than ever for readers to do their own research -- and this is where the Internet is invaluable.

But don't forget to bring along your critical thinking skills.