Recent events in southeast Saskatchewan have re-enforced our belief in this method of communication with our community.
Ever since the early 1960s, the death of newspapers has been predicted, but the inherent value of the printed word on a page continues to bedazzle and defy media analysts.
Why?
One simple response is the fact that newspapers have a tendency to do it right thoroughly and aren't afraid to take the responsibility. After all, when it's down on paper .. it's out there for all to see.
For all its values, television does fall short when citizens require details. They show pictures ... moving pictures, just like the Internet. So do newspaper websites. Nothing new here.
Newspaper reporters then go out and get the details, something that radio and television have a tendency to ignore and that's where newspapers continue to gain favour among those who really care about the news they receive.
Radio, television and Internet will let you know that there is a sale of bananas on now at one of the local grocery stores.
The newspapers will not only provide you with that basic knowledge, but then will cover the other vital aspects. How long will the sale last? Will banana inventory be replenished? On what days? Where do the bananas come from for this sale? Is that the same place where their regular banana supply comes from? How much potassium is in a typical banana and what will the shelf life be of those bananas? How is the store able to maintain a lower price on these particular bananas and still show a profit, or are they using the sale as a loss leader to attract more customers?
Those are the questions that are usually answered in a newspaper article. Overkill? Perhaps, but not for those who prefer to get complete information.
How often have newspaper reporters listened to or watched a radio or television "breaking" news story, only to learn that they are just now getting around to the story they covered last week.
Certainly daily newspapers are engaged in a survival struggle (community newspaper less so) and much of that is due to the fact that young news readers appear to be wanting their information in smaller, easier to access sound bytes and bites. But when they need an explanation of what actually happened, they turn to the print journalists for the credible details, prior, during and after the event.
Some media outlets have a tendency to make news an entertainment package, dwelling on one item at the expense of other events. Newspapers like to cover a wider spectrum. They won't deliver news in an instant, but should deliver it correctly, quickly and with details.
Newspapers still deliver news in the best format ... ink on paper ... because we all know that 100 years from now it will be retrievable. It's a proven format. Can the same be said of the digital, CD and DVD formats of today? If you think so ... try playing back that VCR tape you have of that event you saw in 1987. Problems? We thought so. What about a copy of that file you kept on the floppy disc or on the cassette or reel tape? Or you can rely on the paper files and photos. By the way, if you want to know what happened in Estevan on July 6, 1958 we can tell you, and we did that with things called pens, ink, typewriters, carbon paper, newsprint and dedicated reporters and sales representatives who had a tendency to get their news first hand and to get it right and from proper sources.
Maybe that's why we don't fear the demise of newspapers any more.
