The End Of Newspapers?

Not so fast.

There seems to be one relatively obscure reason that pundits and experts have neglected during the last few years of their prophecies of the impending death of the newspaper. Despite almost a century of newspaper publishing, people have been quick to note that the Internet and online magazines and news websites will replace the traditional and boring paper. This is not so.

Technology may have something to do with the decline in the readership and fans of the immutable newspaper but culture may be the real culprit. For the last 100 years, families especially parents have gone up in the morning and have been treated to enjoy their paper morning ritual. Grandfathers and fathers have enjoyed reading the news while sipping their coffee or eating their breakfast before going off to work. Grandmothers and mothers would usually read after their husbands have left especially the Features, Entertainment and Crossword Puzzle sections. This has been the main cultural habit of any family or individual with regards the newspaper for quite some time.

And for almost a century, we have been accustomed to reading our newspapers every morning before going to work, during breakfast, just after we arrived at the office or during our mid-morning coffee breaks.

But during the last 20 years due to the emergence of the Knowledge Economy and knowledge workers, things got a little busier. Work pressures exacted their tolls on families especially because work can no longer be confined in the factory or a mass assembly line. In the past, after office hours, workers can really leave their work at the factory or at the office. But with the emergence of the knowledge economy, workers began to take their work at home. Sometimes even during weekends too (or is it now oftentimes).

People's traditional breakfast rituals have been turned upside down. Sometimes fathers and mothers have already left before their children get up to bed and get ready for school. Workers get to eat breakfast on the way to work through fast-food chains or just by grabbing some coffee-to-go. As this continued to proliferate, the traditional morning paper was disrupted. And this I propose is one of the defining reasons why newspaper readership is now languishing.

Most people want to read. They want to be updated. Information is king. And those who have vital information in our new economy have power. And the new technologies of the web and digital devices have allowed us ubiquitous access to any information we want – current events, politics, business, culture, entertainment, music, and gossip. This has only added to the demise of the paper based model for news “getting” or reading.

But all is not lost. Newspapers can still revive this once vibrant industry. All they have to do is provide the experience. Families I believe long for that morning paper ritual. The newspaper can become a central part of the our morning rituals again. It is a vital to family relationships. Parents and their children can get back to talk about current events and business news while eating their favorite cereal or french toast or whatever is their cup of tea. People do want that experience, deep inside. We all long for deep loving relationships. And we can only get that if we invest the time, the effort and the money towards achieving it.

The New York Times stands for excellent news reporting. The Wall Street Journal stands for providing excelleng business insights. It's time for them to take this to the next level.

Are you ready to experience the Rebel Lifestyle?

That's what the Philippine Daily Inquirer tries to deliver to its readers.

(It's still a long way though). =)