Under the old local owners, a newspaper’s capacity for making money was only part of its value. Today, it is everything. Gone is the notion that a newspaper should lead, that it has an obligation to its community, that it is beholden to the public….
It is here where I stopped reading, and took a breath. Sometimes it's hard to imagine the impact newspapers have had on me, since I feel I belong to a generation that, if not raised on the internet, has certainly been slowly weaned off print media to a much easier, faster, accessible, flashier form of getting information. And I don't like it. The idea of big newspapers like the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal, losing a base ethic to provide quality information, even if it fails to acquire the highest profit possible, offers a window into a scary world. Even now, when I compare writing a paper on my computer versus writing an entry, by hand, in a journal, or making a handmade card on a piece of paper, I'm astounded by the difference. The feeling of satisfaction, of pure creative energy going into something new.
I hope that voices will emerge to speak for the lonely newspaper, who is about to be abandoned in this world.
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