Media and News

For as long as I can possibly remember newspapers have been present in my home each and every day. I would wake up, head downstairs, and see my Dad sitting in the corner of the living room reading the paper or my Mom sitting in the kitchen reading the news. Times are changing. Things are becoming more electronic and smaller. Instead of newspapers being wrapped in a rubber-band and thrown on your porch, they are now be delivered to someone's Kindle. A part of me considers this a great achievement especially when it comes to cutting down our daily paper consumption. The more trees we save...the better. However, to me, there is nothing like the smell of a morning paper, the black residue that it leaves on your fingers, the sound it makes when you fold it in half, and feeling it gives you when you hold it in your hand. The same thing can be said for books. I have electronic books on my computer, but I'd rather read a book that I was holding in my hands. There's something about being able to hold what we read. Instead of conversations we rely on text messages, IMs, and emails.
Another part of the media that I don't agree with are these huge corporations owning all of these forms of media, including various newspapers spread throughout the country. What ever happened to a local businessman owning his local paper? I support the idea of people wanting to own their own business and making a profit, but there comes a time when too much is simply that...too much. As we're now seeing, these massive corporations are losing money and deciding to close these newspaper companies with years and years of experience and followers. As a result of that many people are losing their jobs including many of our talented and investigative reporters and journalists. These are sad times for those who are involved and those whom appreciate what goes into a newspaper.

In my opinion, this is what needs to happen:

1) Newspapers can only be owned by people living within that particular state, if not the same city or county.
2) Massive corporations may not own a newspaper company. This will allow the newspaper company's revenue to be a direct reflection of their product and their ability to attract advertisers and subscribers.
3) Reduced subscription charges for citizens who actively participate in community service (retirement homes, voting day polls, schools, etc).

The closing of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was mainly due to it being owned by a major corporation/entity with no ties to the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle PI was around for 146 years and is now closed because some major corporation wanted to save a few dollars instead of keeping a landmark newspaper running. Say what you will about the political leanings of the Seattle PI, but don't neglect to realize the importance that newspapers have within a community.

To me, newspapers are a part of the American tradition as much as baseball, Ford Mustangs, and white-picket fences. I get a little choked up when I hear of newspapers closing, especially the Seattle PI. I know that I'm not alone in this matter and I see any loss of public information a tragedy. This is no exception.