On the consumption of news
For most of 2008 and much of 2009, I’ve participated in numerous panel discussions and given talks about social media, new media, the future of newspapers and my empirical observations on the evolution of the information and news industry. I have criticized the journalists who focus more on speed than accuracy. For all practical purposes, I am immersed in the debate of how ‘new’ (social) media is transforming the information provision business, and in many cases, eroding the profitability of news providers.
What I find still somewhat surprising is that, in my daily routine, I still consume news from very traditional news sources. I find myself waking up, starting my coffee maker and turning on the TV (mostly to see the weather forecast and ponder if I should wear thermal underwear or not). At the Skytrain station, on my commute to the office, I pick up the daily newspapers (mostly, 24 Hours Vancouver, Metro Vancouver and on occasion, the print version of The Vancouver Sun). I listen to CBC Radio on occasion, and when I am having dinner at home on a quiet night, I often watch the news (also, frequently, CBC and CTV).
I’m not the only one. I have had this discussion with many other folks who are in the blogosphere and who thoroughly enjoy a Sunday lazy morning reading the print version of the newspaper. Knowing this, knowing that even as connected and online as I am, I still consume news in a very traditional format (TV, radio, print media), makes me ponder whether we’ll see a stabilization in the news business and a reduction in the number of news outlets closing and layoffs.
Thoughts on this topic, anyone?
Related posts:
- My blog, in my readers’ words
- Twitter as real-time news: The case of the US Airways plane crash on the Hudson River
- Greening caffeine consumption?
I love the idea of being able to read newspapers and magazines on an eBook reader. Vancouver Sun is already working on the Kindle, but I’m waiting for the Kindle DX, the full US Letter size reader, to be introduced.
I still like the feeling of turning paper pages, but it’s so liberating to get my favorite papers the moment they’re published, without waiting for them in the mail, and being able to carry them around.