Paul Steiger of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article--"Read All About It...How newspapers got into such a fix, and where they go from here"--reviewing his 40+ years with the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. 
(An accompanying photo slideshow of the history of media is also available online, although you may need a WSJ online subscription to view the slide show and article--well worth the $99 a year.) 
Steiger's reflections on the growth and decline of newspapers, especially upon the dawn of the Internet, speaks about a media communications issue every thinking person should ask: "How can I remain informed, enlightened and entertained in a world dominated by electronic media fighting for advertising dollars, let alone bloggers and podcasters who are increasingly receiving commercial sponsorship? Are printed newspapers worth saving? For that matter, are magazines and other periodicals--the printed word--a necessity in a world where information is readily available electronically?
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I have a personal story to tell. Both my dad and grandfather were employed for 30 years each by the San Jose Mercury News. While both worked in production rather than editorial, they took pride in the results of everyone's work--from reporters to editors to composers to pressmen to carriers. I remember dad bringing home the afternoon paper he helped produce (at that time, the Mercury published two editions). Dad always had a copy of a "reject" under his 
arm when he came home. (Rejects were flawed papers with smudged ink or torn pages.) Invariably, as he sat in his favorite chair, he read the newspaper he had labored with others to make. He was informed. He knew the important events and issues of the day, because he read one of the most acclaimed newspapers in the country--a paper that had won numerous awards for its excellence.
After dinner, I vividly remember my mom, who tiredly sat down on the couch, while my sister and I watched TV, also reading the paper, learning about world, country and local stories of importance, before she dozed off with the paper on her face. Between listening to talk radio and reading the paper, my mom, a "housewife," knew more about global events than most less-well informed professionals today, who know more about less. Information workers today are knowledgeable about their industries and fields of work but, in my experience, lack interest and know less about world affairs.
Perhaps why I'm writing this post tonight--New Year's Eve--is due to my mom's death this year. She was 88. She lived a good and joyous life and, if she were alive tonight, our family, despite my dad's passing some years ago, would have celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary...after reading the paper first, of course.
Paul Steiger in the Journal also wrote about the impact of radio, television and cable on the newspaper industry and advertising. In his career, both electronic and print media co-existed, sharing advertising revenues and generating editorial content. It was competitive, but electronic complemented printed media. One fed off the other, just as online media today feed off printed media. Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL and other Internet giants would collapse without the efforts of print and electronic journalists whose contributions benefit us all. There's little need for search if there's nothing to search, and less need for online advertising without content. Few bloggers and podcasters would publish today without the content delivered by the news organizations.
During the heyday of radio and television journalism, Edward R. Murrow was the conscience of American media. Many of his stories, derived from newspapers, led to some of the greatest broadcast programs in history. If you haven't seen the movie about Murrow--"good night, and good luck," I urge you to view it. 
It shows how broadcast journalism in the 1940's and 1950's shared the same fight for advertising dollars as newspapers. The movie also vividly presents the legal and integrity issues online writers struggle with today.
Newspapers, as they fight to maintain high editorial standards, are seeking new and innovative ways to deliver quality content online and in print. It's encouraging to see Yahoo partnering with 176 newspapers, as well as Google working with 50 newspapers. It demonstrates that there is a greater good beyond next quarter's profits or "winner take all" attitudes.
Only through joint efforts and sharing the advertising pie will these efforts succeed. Until then, as Murrow said, "good night, and good luck."
