It is all inevitable to me

It is all inevitable to me

       The subject is the decline of the print media.

            Now change is constant to me, having been a Marine. So philosophically, I have little interest in trying to maintain the status quo, which will change no matter what I do anyway. I am still "mission first" in my way of thinking, and the mission is simple news reporting.

            In my own lifetime (I am age 65 today), I have observed the decline of news reporting in the USA and the foreign newspapers run by USA educated people. Said another way, what used to be published in the opinion section or editorial page or even paid polls has gravitated all too often towards the front page, and presented as news. Now even that's fine, too, since I can still vote with my own pocket book and move on. For example I use to be a faithful subscriber to Newsweek Magazine, which is now in its final death rolls, or so it seems. I personally unsubscribed ages ago, and feel like I have helped contribute to its passing.  Now even that magazine at one time was a news magazine with some editorials, vice the more recent editorial magazine with little current news.

            What is particularly appalling to me is that many of these opinion writers want me to pay for all this lack of simple news reporting and read their often well written opinion articles. I just disagree, and again, vote with my own pocket book. After all, I have my own opinions, too.

            And, in fairness, there are wonderful print media publications like the New York Times that has so many great sections, like food reporting (to me). I can imagine many of these employees that work in these sections are somewhat bitter at the opinion writers and family owners running this once great newspaper into the ground, and thus affecting their life, too.

            So where do I try get my "news" these days. I personally can't answer that today, since I am still seeking sources I trust. This is still an evolving process. The concept of trust, faith, and confidence comes to mind.

            But I do think a lot of printed media that still succeeds financially appears to be "tabloid" type publications.  Thank goodness "they" still have professional standards, like sticking to the subject. Even I remember disparaging the magazine "People" published by Time Warner, I believe.  My disparaging thoughts were when the magazine started, and I thought then it would never hold a candle to "Time" magazine. Boy, was I ever wrong. I quit subscribing to Time Magazine, too.  Remember I grew up on another standard that Time Magazine followed then, and I believed I was reading "news" of the last week. Maybe not, but that is what I believed.

            So when often family owned newspapers financially decline or get sold, I no long shed a crocodile tear. They did it to themselves, and are now suffering the consequences. After all, they are in a business to make money using the news as a method. And the decline was probably going to happen anyway, at least as long as we have reliable public electricity that allows the internet news to compete. Said another way, most humans just want to know the "news" that affects them...nothing more and nothing less.

            So it is all inevitable to me. That's my personality and pocket book, at least.

            The good news(no pun intended)  is that we might actually end up with better news reporting than what we have today in 2013. It may take a decade to slowly happen. And it will take a change in the status quo, which appears to me these days to be inevitable.

            In the meantime, many more present journalistic people may get use to saying one phrase..."would you like fries with that order?"