Splicetoday

Politics & Media
Jul 10, 2008, 01:09PM

Will The Sun Come Out Tomorrow?

One student's summer internship at a once prominent newspaper coincided with yet another major cut in staff. Here's his look at the decline of the print medium on a late night drive home.

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Photo by moonhouse

It's 1 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, and I have just finished up another shift of my internship at The (Baltimore) Sun. I say good night to everyone, not knowing if it's the last time I will see them in the newsroom. I walk past the rows and rows of empty desks, telling myself that the only reason no one is there is because deadline has passed.

As I walk through the walkway and into the parking garage, I look out through the lights and wonder who will cover the city below me after the job and budget cuts. Having already cut jobs and with the announcement of more job cuts forthcoming, what will the future hold?

As I get into my car and make my way down the parking garage, I feel as if I am descending as fast as The Sun's circulation numbers. I speed up. As I pass Camden Yards on my right, I begin to think of the numerous ways besides tomorrow's newspaper that I can find out who won that night's Orioles game.

You see, that's the problem. People don't feel the need to read newspapers when they have an infinite number of alternate resources from which to get their news. Why find out what Manager Dave Trembly said about the latest O's collapse tomorrow when I can just go to Orioles.com and find out right now? Until newspapers find a way to generate a positive cash flow from their multimedia endeavors, their problems will persist.

Discussion
  • Joel Cohen's fighting a losing battle. I don't believe that many people under the age of 30--like the commenter above--actually read newspapers in print. Why would they? Newspapers are the vinyl LPs of the early 21st century: there may be a place for them, but only as boutique items. It's a shame for young journalists like Cohen, who, like thousands before him, romanticized the newspaper industry, but he can blame the corporate media companies who were far too slow in making the transformation from print to the Internet.

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  • as long as papers continue to generate revenue from ads we'll be okay (we being those of us who feel the need for newsprint in our paws on a daily basis) I read some stuff online out of a modern-day lack of patience but a regular dose of newspaper, whether it be national, local, community or alternative remains the norm. true there were dramatic shifts made necessary by the arrival of the web, consequently ignored by the Fourth Estate and now having a rapidly dramatic effect but adjustments are being made. Online is far from profitable enough to sustain a monopoly on how we get our information. we'll be alright young intern...a pay packet in from the more traditional medium awaits...

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