These days, rarely a week goes by without someone — a co-worker, a friend, a professional associate, an acquaintance, etc. — asking for my thoughts about the future of the newspaper industry.
Their fundamental question often comes out like this: “How much longer will newspapers last, especially in their printed form?”
The only honest answer to that, of course, is “I don’t know.” But having already witnessed firsthand dramatic technological changes in newspapers during my 36-year career, I’ve developed some instincts that tell me the printed newspaper, while it won’t last forever, will be around for quite a while.
I don’t think I’m being naive. I understand the march of technology and embrace it. While the demand for relevant, credible news on the printed page may slowly decrease, the demand for news itself will not. And it’s important to note that the demand for the printed newspaper remains strong. The Tribune-Star has more than 21,000 paying subscribers each day, a couple thousand more than that on Sundays. Add to that the extraordinarily high readership of our online edition, Tribstar.com, and it’s clear this newspaper is alive and well.
Our readers, our customers, tell us constantly that they value the print edition highly. They can’t imagine their lives without the daily newspaper and dread the day when it may no longer exist, a victim of the digital information age.
Their passion for the newspaper, and their continued willingness to pay for the printed product and have it delivered to their homes or businesses every day, is what keeps my morale high in these tough times. I know, and they know, that their newspaper is providing them a valuable service they cannot get elsewhere, and that reading their newspaper is a crucial part of community life, of being an engaged citizen.
Yes, we know broadcast media have cornered the market on a few types of news — mainly weather, some breaking news and, in larger markets, traffic information. But for the wider, deeper vein of information, newspapers have the market cornered.
Don’t just take my word for it. Good research backs me up.
A new study released recently supports the assertion that more people use newspapers, in print and online, to learn about their community than any other media source. The study was sponsored by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Internet & American Life Project in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
For all their challenges, newspapers are still the source most people choose for reliable local news about government, taxation, politics, crime, business, sports, education, etc. In other words, the things that really matter to them in their daily lives.
A good example of how your Tribune-Star provides readers with in-depth, credible information they can’t get anywhere else is our upcoming special section on the 2011 municipal election. Our staff has been busy interviewing candidates and gathering information about the various races in Terre Haute and surrounding communities. Their work will be featured in the special section to be published as an insert to the newspaper on Saturday, Oct. 22. That’s a little more than two weeks before the Nov. 8 election. This content will also be published to our online edition.
Reader feedback is important to us, so please let us know how we’re doing and what we can do to make the Tribune-Star even more valuable to you.
And don’t forget, we plan to be here for a long, long time.
Max Jones can be reached at (812) 231-4336, or by e-mail at max.jones@tribstar.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TribStarMax.
Max Jones
MAX JONES: Community newspapers too valuable to go away
- Max Jones
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MAX JONES: The American Newspaper: Changing? Yes. Dying? No way!
It happened again this past January when all those “looking at the year ahead” stories started popping up on Internet “news” websites and broadcast “news” programs. Under a provocative headline reading something like “Five industries/businesses doomed to tank in the coming year,” there it was, a prediction based on an unsubstantiated “expert” analysis that the newspaper industry will continue in 2013 to suffer its slide into oblivion.
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MAX JONES: Call it religion if you want, it’s still bigotry
The tiny grocery store my grandfather operated in the 1950s and ’60s was often a gathering spot for the colorful cast of neighborhood characters that populated my hometown. I liked hanging out there with my brothers or cousins because it was good entertainment and we all enjoyed the way our granddad interacted with the locals.
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MAX JONES: Social media can actually serve a useful purpose
If you’ve spent any time at all on Facebook and Twitter, you know that so much of what we now call social media is mindless banter. Not that this is a bad thing.
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MAX JONES: There are simple ways to get your letter published
As an old year turns into a new year, I am inclined to look back and assess the newspaper’s performance on behalf of readers the past 12 months. When I do, the volume and quality of reader letters we publish always amazes me.
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MAX JONES: Newspapers have story to tell about bright future
Rarely does a week go by when someone doesn’t call, write or stop me on the street to express how much they value their local newspaper and appreciate what it means to the community. Usually they like to tell me that it’s the print edition they find most satisfying, but many acknowledge they also use the online edition to keep an eye on things as well.
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Max Jones: Dances for CHANCES — great fun for worthy cause
Many years ago — too many to ponder at the moment — I joined a community theater troupe in Sullivan and had the opportunity to perform in several Broadway musicals. In one instance, I was fortunate to have the lead role portraying George M. Cohan in the musical “George M!”
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MAX JONES: News dynamics sometimes test an editor’s principles
It has been a long-standing policy at the Tribune-Star not to publish the names of crime victims
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MAX JONES: Got a question for Lugar-Mourdock debate? Submit it
Hoosier voters, especially those who choose a Republican ballot for the May 8 primary election, face a difficult decision this spring. Longtime U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar faces a spirited re-election challenge from state Treasurer Richard Mourdock for the GOP Senate nomination. The winner advances to a general election showdown in the fall with the presumed Democrat nominee, Rep. Joe Donnelly, and any third-party or independent candidates who qualify to run.
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MAX JONES: The sun never sets on Indiana’s time-zone debate
When Mitch Daniels aggressively pushed for Indiana to adopt daylight-saving time in his first term as governor, I admit I was not enthusiastic. The state, I figured, had found a way to handle its awkward time-zone geography by merely maintaining the time status quo while states around it changed their clocks twice a year. We peacefully coexisted with that strategy for a couple of decades.
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MAX JONES: It is amazing what an energized downtown can do
For those of us who’ve watched the inspired growth and development of downtown Indianapolis through the years, it’s hard to understand sometimes the amazement some express at what’s been created.
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MAX JONES: More changes and challenges, but we’re getting there
As a newspaper lands on your porch each day, or you grab it from a local vendor, the complex manufacturing process that goes into producing it is probably the furthest thing from your mind.
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MAX JONES: Arranging the pieces so it all makes sense
Putting together a newspaper, with its diverse mix of content, is sort of like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. You just have to keep mixing, matching and playing with the pieces until things begin to look right.
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MAX JONES: Community newspapers too valuable to go away
These days, rarely a week goes by without someone — a co-worker, a friend, a professional associate, an acquaintance, etc. — asking for my thoughts about the future of the newspaper industry.
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MAX JONES: Angry emotion yet to rear its head in mayoral race
October has arrived. Five weeks remain before Election Day, and a staple ingredient seems to be missing from Terre Haute’s mayoral campaign season.
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MAX JONES: Join us as we walk in the shadows of 9/11
The 10th anniversary of 9/11 has sparked renewed interest toward a haunting time in modern history. With all that’s happened the past 10 years related to the terrorist attacks of 2001, it still seems like only yesterday that we all were watching those terrible images of commercial airliners flying into buildings, towers collapsing and grief-stricken people all across America — and the world — mourning the victims.
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MAX JONES: 9/11 ‘moments’ still vivid 10 years later
With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, Americans are recalling in vivid detail where they were when they first learned of the terrorist attacks.
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MAX JONES: Something special — courtesy of your newspaper
Publishing a daily newspaper is our bread and butter here at the Tribune-Star.
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MAX JONES: Ernie Pyle never ceases bringing pride to Indiana
Once again, Ernie Pyle has made me proud to be a journalist.
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MAX JONES: What do you know about that founding Declaration?
Of all the national holidays Americans celebrate, July 4th — Independence Day — sports the most essential link to the country’s shared history and ideals.
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MAX JONES: Ready, action! Video lets us tell even better stories
Those of you who make the Tribune-Star’s online edition part of your reading routine — and there are approximately 40,000 of you each week who do so — have been treated recently to an enhanced feature on our website.
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MAX JONES: Vigo County played active role in Civil War history
When the Tribune-Star set out to find a way to commemorate Vigo County’s unique role in Civil War history on the 150th anniversary of its beginning, I was concerned it might be difficult to find much information on the subject locally.
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MAX JONES: Local seminar to shed light on access
Transparency in public information is an important principle for the proper functioning of government at all levels. Vigilance is key in ensuring that public records and meetings remain open and accessible to citizens of our communities.
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MAX JONES: Readers benefit from new resource
The Tribune-Star’s primary mission is to report news and tell stories that are relevant to our large community of readers, helping them be better informed and more engaged citizens.
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MAX JONES: Farewell to Stephanie, for a while
The Tribune-Star and its legions of readers throughout the Wabash Valley were extremely fortunate six years ago to welcome back a native daughter.
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MAX JONES: Friends ready for next big step at Pyle historic site
The campaign to preserve the legacy of World War II journalist Ernie Pyle in his hometown of Dana passed a milestone last week. Indiana’s Natural Resources Commission voted to end the state’s involvement in the Pyle historic site and turn it over to the Friends of Ernie Pyle organization.
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Max Jones: Taking the pulse of community progress
Terre Haute and Vigo County have been in a period of vibrant change in recent years.
- MAX JONES: Christmas miracles can still happen You don’t have to wander far to find people who remember vividly when downtown Terre Haute was the place to be during the Christmas
- EDITOR'S NOTE: Appearance of corruption a strong incentive for reform Today, and for the following two days, Tribune-Star readers are being treated to a remarkable series of editorials and essays produced by the Indianapolis Star.
- MAX JONES: Tough times call for lots of encouragement The last college and high school classes of the first decade of the 21st century have begun receiving their diplomas . Expectations are high, even as economic times are hard.
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MAX JONES: Printed newspaper will be here for years to come
Whenever I speak to groups or individuals around the community about the state of the newspaper industry, I often get confused looks when I say that newspaper readership is growing rapidly and has never been higher.
- More Max Jones Headlines
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MAX JONES: The American Newspaper: Changing? Yes. Dying? No way!
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