I'm sorry they're so beleaguered lately, because I love a good newspaper, and I love that they are (were?) all so unique. When I visit a new city, I like to pick up a copy of their paper to get a feel for the place. I love reading my hometown paper, because it makes me feel... well, at home.
I love old papers. Papers from the day someone was born. Papers from the big days in our history. Even the boring days have interesting papers if you go back a bit -- it's fun to look at the ads and advice and gossip and concerns of the day. The prices, the pop culture, the things people were buying. These are all things you can find in the treasure troves of our past.
I ran across a couple of links this weekend that got me thinking about old papers. First, the 15 most iconic newspaper headlines ever printed. Wow. They give me chills. And the second is a little more open-ended: the newspaper archive, where you can browse or search, and then, if you want, share your discoveries (some of which will cost ya, but I'm entertained enough by the free stuff!).
Our newspapers can give us something that lasts beyond the day's headlines. It's something to think about as we decide whether or not we're going to try and save them.
I love old papers. Papers from the day someone was born. Papers from the big days in our history. Even the boring days have interesting papers if you go back a bit -- it's fun to look at the ads and advice and gossip and concerns of the day. The prices, the pop culture, the things people were buying. These are all things you can find in the treasure troves of our past.
I ran across a couple of links this weekend that got me thinking about old papers. First, the 15 most iconic newspaper headlines ever printed. Wow. They give me chills. And the second is a little more open-ended: the newspaper archive, where you can browse or search, and then, if you want, share your discoveries (some of which will cost ya, but I'm entertained enough by the free stuff!).
Our newspapers can give us something that lasts beyond the day's headlines. It's something to think about as we decide whether or not we're going to try and save them.
3 comments:
My local newspaper has published a book about the 1970's, based on newspaper articles and photos from that decade. It features a lot of textile and other traditional industries fighting for their lives and failing.
I think, with the social networking revolution going on, and online news - both as sound-bites and in-depth - so readily available in fresh updates, will kill off the paper editions, which can offer little beyond online versions except a larger format, and no need for a internet connection. The delay in both getting "old" news out and getting responses from readers just cannot compete with online versions. That said, in Norway, it is the regional newspapers, which focus on local matters, that are thriving; the national tabloids have lost the most readers to online channels.
Yes, it's hard to tell where the news business is going to land, ultimately, but I think it's safe to say that anyone can publish wire stories, but having real, local reporters is an added value that's worth the cost of admission to a lot of folks.
One reason the local newspapers survive, are local reporters, yes. When reading the national tabloids here in Norway, a lot of it is mere translations of articles in foreign newspapers, with the Norwegian journalist's name in the byline (!). That is not reporting.
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