Newspapers are not dead, far from it. We’re consolidating, collaborating, working smarter, for sure. Embracing the digital revolution and all its advantages, absolutely. But not dead; in fact, the public’s thirst for news is unprecedented and we are meeting the demand in new and innovative ways.
To paraphrase Bob Hope, the comedian and tireless morale-booster for our military, “Well, we’re still here. … We’re just happy this has a happy outcome.”
Remember the iconic blunder? The much-surprised Hope’s quip was in response to his death being prematurely announced by Rep. Bob Stump, R-Ariz., on the U.S. House floor in 1998 after The Associated Press mistakenly posted a partial obituary on its website. Hope’s daughter, Linda, had to get on the phone to dispel the reports.
From 2021: Undercurrents: As the world goes on, reflecting upon 28 years at the keyboard
Previously: News Herald making Saturday edition digital starting March 26
I’m standing in Linda Hope’s spot today, saying the reports of our industry’s demise are greatly exaggerated. We’re not dead, but we are changing for the better.
The change from a print edition on Saturday to an e-edition might have left you feeling like you’re losing an old friend. I know how you feel, I’m old school, too. I like having a printed edition in my hands. I started reading newspapers when I was 6 or 7 years old. Sports stories at first, then eventually on to the global news stories I could comprehend. When my dad was serving in Vietnam, I read every story on the war that was printed in the paper.
A newspaper in my hands just feels natural.
Well then, why is our industry changing? Because a free press is vital to our nation’s success and the industry’s previous business model was a death wish in a digital world. As Antonio Guterres, the United Nations chief said, unfettered journalism is “the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power.”
Our mission is important. To keep you informed, change was a must.
Let’s make it easy to understand. Do you have a newspaper in your hands or sitting next to you now? How about a laptop, tablet, or a smartphone? If you answered “no” to the first question and “yes” — possibly “yes, yes, yes” — to the second, you know where this is going.
It’s a matter of demand, and the digital revolution long ago left the station as a bullet train. The choice was for newspapers to work together and jump aboard, or die. Some waited too long and missed the speeding train. Others desperately grasped onto the railing of the caboose. Those newspapers with visionary leaders climbed aboard with the engineer. I’m thankful Gannett — the parent company of USA TODAY and the four Florida Panhandle dailies, the Pensacola News Journal, the Northwest Florida Daily News, the Panama City News Herald and the Tallahassee Democrat — helped the engineer lead the train down the tracks.
Gannett’s Florida dailies also have trimmed press operations in mid-January, closing printing plants in Panama City and South Florida and moving printing operations elsewhere.
Another change coming March 1 is the shift to an e-edition only on Saturday. The e-editions, which have long been an option on our websites, are a growing part of our readership.
Electronic editions are exact reproductions of the actual paper, with the same features. They have clear advantages, including:
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Instantly available across the U.S. — get your local news even while you’re away, and no missed deliveries.
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Much better for the environment — no inks, no newsprint, no photo chemicals for press plates, and no gas consumption to deliver them.
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Type sizes can be enlarged as needed.
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Access to all Gannett papers across the nation and their local coverage. Do you have parents or siblings in Burlington, Vermont? We got you covered. How about friends in Phoenix, Arizona. Ditto! The U.S. covered like a blanket.
So while it’s easy to lament change, history shows us there is no need. Computers and smartphones changed our lives for the better, right?
And who says a “free press” must include a printing press?
Ray Glenn is the engagement editor at the Panama City News Herald and Northwest Florida Daily News. You can reach him at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Is the newspaper industry dead? No, it’s changing and going digital.
