To read or not? Real cause for concern

Why are newspapers in trouble? Ever since the demise of Knight Ridder there has been great concern about the future of newspapers–the printed word.

Larry Froelich, former BJ copy desk chief who is still working part time in Lexington, KY, called our attention to a Los Angeles Times column which quoted a young high school journalist:

“My grandparents subscribe to a lot of newspapers. If I want to read a newspaper, I go online, but I wouldn't pay for it. Our generation doesn't pay for things on the Internet."

The question everyone asks is how are you going to survive if you put your content online and let everyone read it for free.

The problem, though, is not money. The problem is that nobody reads anymore. A report published in November by the National Endowment for the Arts is titled “To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence.”

Perhaps you will read our commentary about all this on our website. Click on the headline.