Langer has written a great post detailing why he is still in love with old media, and in particular with the idea of reading a newspaper. Essentially, he likes it because it makes him more informed about the world in general, but also because it gives him the odd occasion to feel superior for already knowing a story, or for knowing more than the journalist does. I have to admit to feeling the same way. I still love reading newspapers, and absorbing TV news, because they tell me things I didn’t know. And yes, there is also that feeling of mild ego-boost when you are in a position to criticise a story through prior knowledge. I beat on the media, a lot, particularly newspapers, but I do it out of love. You know when you have to be really, really close to someone before you can criticise them? That’s how I feel with the media. I used to write for a business-to-business magazine, so have done journalism from the inside, and now I’m an absolutely avid consumer of media in pretty much all forms. Plus the girlfriend is a reporter for a local newspaper, so there’s that connection too. For me, this means that I’m in a position to criticise, because I know that the whole industry can perform better. Better meaning more accurately, more openly, more fairly, and more completely. It’ll get there, eventually. But in the meantime, I’m still a fan of old media, of reading every page in a newspaper. I figure that if someone has taken the time to write it, someone to edit it, and someone to lay it out on the page, then the least I can do is to read it. To get back to the original point, I have to agree with Langer that the old media is still worth looking after, and celebrating. New media’s time will come, but not just yet.
Reblogged from: langer
Originally posted on: Matt Langer
