Newspapers Are About The Writer And The Web Is About The Editor
IN “Why Old Technologies Are Still Kicking”, the New York Times’ Steve Lohr looks at technical innovation and newspapers:
The demise of the old technology is confidently predicted, and indeed it may lose ground to the insurgent, as mainframes did to the personal computer. But the old technology or business often finds a sustainable, profitable life. Television, for example, was supposed to kill radio, and movies, for that matter. Cars, trucks and planes spelled the death of railways. A current death-knell forecast is that the Web will kill print media.
The web will not kill print media. We buy newspapers for the writers. London’s free newspapers have no good writing and no decent articles. Like the web they are free.
We buy newspapers for the good writing and the decent articles. Those newspapers with the least good writing and the weakest voice will no longer be needed and die out.
The web can scoop newspapers. But the best newspaper writers can put the news in context.
The web works best as an editor – a strong editorial voice linking the news of most interest to the best writing.
The new Anroak will be an online magazine and an editor for the web.
Posted: 23rd, March 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Tabloids Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
