I propose a revolution, the internet is becoming too big for its boots. The latest thing it now threatens is our beloved print newspapers. Ever since the Gutenberg press was first invented print journalism has been a mainstay in our news consumption, a mainstay in our life. Now I know things have been a bit shaky since the idea of celeb ‘journalism’ first reared its ugly head, but print has always been there for us and it has always been the true embodiment of one of the main pillars of democracy, free speech.
Now they say the information super highway is true democracy, sure but what is the internet really good for, yeah that’s right pornography, Facebook and illegal downloads.
I mean do we really want to place journalism in the hands of socially inept teenagers who mindlessly bicker over discussion boards? Okay so the online news sphere has bloated and burst all over the show and there’s news ‘content’ (oh what a woeful term) flashing back and too, but how much of this is intelligent, well written journalism? Okay some maybe calling all internet journalism biased, offensive rubbish is foolish, but well frankly it is.
The only news sites worthy of visiting are either the BBC or the online versions of Print papers, well face it you may as well watch the box or actually read a paper. As the great Ernest Hemmingway said,
“The most essential gift for a writer is a built in, shock proof shit-detector.”
You really can’t believe anything you read on the internet, and even if you can it’s properly not worth reading. Who invented comments for news stories? Why? Why give terminally boring people the chance to comment on things they don’t understand.
True, print has its far share of pointless individuals but for the majority they are actually professional writers who have earned the right to write. These reporters know how to spot a story and they know how to write. Isn’t it best to let a professional loose with a pen instead of some joker who just because he knows how to sit in a chair and figured out how to type thinks his opinion should be heard the world over.
And how can having your eyes burned out by fake artificial whiteness ever compare to having your fingers gently stained by newsprint.
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2 comments:
nicely put, but as much as we love the old newspaper and its pleasant atrributes, the internet will continue to grow and grow. its out of our hands!
I agree that with Internet journalism there seems to be a stigma attached to it. But who's to say that there aren't professional journalists available on the net that just want to continue their profession just in a different media? In the same way that texting gave every idiot with a phone a chance to voice their opinion on live TV shows, the Internet has been an open avenue for equally retarded users to argue intently about something because they feel that being faceless makes them invincible. Just look at the comments people leave on YouTube videos.
And although one should never believe everything they read on the Internet, I'm also inclined to believe that the same can be said about print newspapers.
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