<< Back 5/29/02 Here’s to the future of newspapers By Scott McLeod It was only a few years ago that we in the newspaper business were being bombarded by dangerous sounding predictions about the industry being in its death throes. The Internet, traditional news shows and the emerging news magazine programs were going to rob the industry of its advertising revenue and its readers. Newspapers — daily, weekly, and all other types — were in trouble, came the prediction. Amid those warnings, we started The Smoky Mountain News. Many friends and foes predicted our demise. More pointedly, several have since told me they thought I was completely nuts. But next week — on June 2, to be exact — we will have been at it for three years. This newspaper, and all others who have a well-defined purpose and a decent amount of business savvy, have a secure future, I think. Here’s why. The most worrisome of all the naysaying about newspapers came from those who said we in the United States were becoming a culture of TV-addled, soft-brained dummies who just didn’t read anymore. Amid that reality, how could an industry built upon a people’s need for the minute details of government and individual communities survive? Why not turn on cable at 10 p.m. and watch models romp on Miami Beach as part of a cable travel show rather than sit in an easy chair and peruse a local, regional or national newspaper? Why not listen to John Boy and Billy in the morning instead of reading a newspaper? The flap over America’s tastes, the profit-driven nature of TV, and the entertainment value of news hit the headlines a few weeks ago when ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel was almost dumped as the network tried to woo David Letterman into the late-night time slot. The serious-minded news junkies rose up and decried the move, chastising the network for even considering getting rid of what has remained one of the most intelligent, probing and meaningful television news programs anywhere. The network, however, needed a profitable show to offset losses in its other divisions. Although Nightline remains on the air, the message from the network was pretty clear — news shows, no matter how good, are not untouchable. They are only as important as their percentage of profit. The fact that Koppel’s television program was nearly yanked for a late-night talk show is a reassuring sign for us who deliver news via newsprint instead of through the airwaves. The print media has always made the argument that it gives more substantive coverage than does almost any television news program. A few months ago, a widely circulated column comparing the two mediums revealed that the average NBC Nightly News broadcast contained 3,600 words, contrasted with the 100,000 words in a typical issue of The New York Times or The Washington Post. Granted, most newspapers don’t come close to the kind of writing and coverage found in newspapers like the two mentioned above, but the comparison is still valid on the local level. If someone in Western North Carolina counted the words devoted to news on the average WLOS News 13 broadcast to that found in any newspaper in Western North Carolina — daily, weekly, whatever — the numbers would reveal a similar ratio. We do more extensive coverage and more in-depth reporting. It’s simply the nature of the beast. And news is our entire business. Whereas television and other mediums have a small portion of their business dedicated to news coverage, it is all we do. Our profitability is based on how well we do one thing, not on a whole host of other ventures. More importantly for the future of newspapers, I think, is the “local-ness” of coverage, particularly for smaller newspapers. Both in the stories we write and in the advertisements that appear in our paper, we provide a healthy — and hopefully thorough — sampling of the communities we cover. Neither the Internet nor television has figured out how to package information as neatly and as long-lasting as newspapers. We put it all together, and then — depending on what kind of paper it is — we have a shelf life. You can come back and read the rest of the stories, fold it up and take it to the restaurant or to work, take it in your car when shopping. Aside from the resources newspaper put into covering their communities, I think there is another good reason we will survive. As we move farther and farther into the electronic age, I think the organic nature of our core business becomes more appealing. There is something comforting in sitting down with a paper, something you can hold, feel, fold, touch, and carry. So as we celebrate our third birthday, I think that the newspaper industry and this particular paper you’re holding in your hands have a healthy future ahead of them. In fact, I’m betting my life on it. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)