Going Digital...

For this weeks blog I was trying to think of a good topic to write about and I was thinking about the Rocky Mountain News. And I found an article about the editor, John Temple.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/scripps.rocky.denver.2.947032.html

This article is from CBS in Denver.

It said that John Temple is trying not to give up and let the closure of his newspaper keep him from reporting. However, he does say that there has to be a new way to look at journalism now. He thinks that in order to stay in business he needs to report about local events and move on-line and go digital. He says that he knows he cannot compete with the New York Times or CNN.com. However, he remains very confident that he can get people to pay for an on-line local service.

So I started to think about this. And I am not entirely sure that I agree with him on everything.

Now, I do agree that he should not give up and he needs to continue to make a living and since he loves journalism he should try and remain in this field. In addition, I also think that he is correct with his ideas about moving to the digital world. I do think that that is where eventually the news is going to go because with each generation we are becoming more and more digital people who want information now.

I do think that it is important for people to know how to make on-line material also, and it is important for people to learn how to do this. And I think that if people who are currently in the newspaper industry should learn this so they have less reason to be laid off. If they know how to make on-line content then they have a better change of not being laid off. Furthermore, in case they do, they have a better chance of finding a new job quicker I think.

I also think that it would be good if there were a place Temple could report about local news. Because I believe that even though national and international news is very important, it is also key to know what is happening around you on the local level. One way I think this is possible is through his ideas of putting it on-line.

However, this is where my ideas differ slightly with Temples. I do not think that there will be a large amount of people willing to pay for local news. The reason I think this is because people have become so accustomed to getting things and information for free on the Internet, at least recent information. Furthermore, I think that people would be able to find local information out in other ways that by paying for a website like one he is suggesting.

I just know that my generation has learned to get things without paying for them on-line, so if he were to create content that you had to pay for, it would not work very well.

And I think that this is where the current problem that newspapers are facing, which is to make on-line content and also make a profit from it. I think that when that problem is solved the newspaper industry might be able to breathe easier, at least for a little while.