The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will roll off the presses for the last time Tuesday. The Hearst Corp. announced Monday that it would stop publishing the 146-year old newspaper, Seattle's oldest business, and cease delivery to more than 117,600 weekday readers. The company, however, said it would maintain seattlepi.com, making it the nation's largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product.
Change is inevitable. Change is good. Adapt or die. Yes, our world is changing all around us...but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take the time to mourn the gradual, seemingly inevitable death of an American institution. No, Seattle's P-I isn't the first newspaper to cease print operations- nor will it be the last- but it's yet another symbol of the earth shifting under our feet. Change may be inevitable, and it may be good...but that doesn't mean I'm always going to be willing to openly embrace it.
Full disclosure: I've always loved newspapers. My first real job was delivering papers for the Minneapolis StarTribune. I once won a trip to a Minnesota North Stars hockey game by selling subscriptions. Newspapers have always been a prime information source for- as well as a source of ritual and comfort. There's always been something peaceful and familiar about curling up with a newspaper and a cup of coffee in the morning. Somehow doing that with a keyboard and the 13" screen on my MacBook doesn't carry quite the same emotional weight.
OK, so I understand that this is primarily a generational thing. The reality of the Internet being a primary news source for an ever-increasing number of Americans is something that's been with us for some time now. Adapt or die, right? Sadly, newspapers seem to be adapting to the online world, but the reality is that you can only do so much with newsprint. Nonetheless, newspapers DO have a legitimate and important role to play in a functional democracy. Someone needs to be watching those in power...and few institutions have the wherewithal and the ability to play watchdog like a newspaper.
The sad thing is that there are cities who, after this recession is dead and buried, may be without a single daily newspaper. Seattle, now down to one paper, may be one of the first. the P-I may have died a quiet death, but the Seattle Times is every bit as financially challenged...and in some respects, even more so than the P-I. How long will the Times be able to hold, even in a market in which they now hold a monopoly? If things continue as they are, and if newspapers like the Seattle Time remain wedded to their current business model...well, let's just say that "extinction" will be the answer to the question, "What do newspapers and dinosaurs have in common?"
Don't get me wrong; I know about economic cycles, and I understand that down times can serve a healthy purpose in weeding out the sick and inefficient parts of the economy. That sort of thing is certainly true in these times, but losing newspapers, because of their traditional roles as watchdogs in our democracy, is a particularly difficult and risky thing to contemplate. Once a newspaper dies, who takes over their watchdog role? Who is there to protect the public interest by keeping an eye on the rich and powerful? So far, I've seen nothing to indicate that anyone or anything rushes in to fill that vacuum...and ultimately, we're all poorer for it. If you don't keep a light on, how are the cockroaches to know that they need to scatter?
The P-I is not the first, or will it be the last, newspaper to fold. The newspaper I delivered as a kid, the Minneapolis StarTribune, is reportedly in mortal danger. Other cities are experiencing the same uncertainty when it comes to their local print news source. Yes, the market is changing, and news outlets that cannot adapt can, should, and ultimately must wither and die. Losing a newspaper, though, is not like losing a widget factory. The impact and long-range effects of losing a newspaper can and does impact a city for years. Seattle will survive, even if neither of it's newspapers can. The sad thing is that, for those in Seattle who love their city and want to know what's going on, information is becoming much harder to come by.
Besides, what are people going to do on Sunday mornings in Seattle if the Times also folds??
