Technology changing face of newspapers

Published 11:09 pm Friday, November 5, 2010

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

You’ve heard that before, right?

In the fast-paced environment in which we now live, things change almost daily.

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Technology has left a finger print on nearly every aspect of everything.

I can’t think of many things that are done now the same way they were 20 years ago. In many industries, people have been replaced by machines.

More emails are sent now than letters are mailed.

Robotics, lasers, advancement in medicines and millions of other things have improved healthcare and the quality of life.

But, possibly few other industries have been touched by technology as much as the business of news.

I’ve heard it before, “The Internet is killing the newspaper.”

That’s not true. The Internet is challenging newspapers to find new and better ways of doing what they’ve always done but it’s not killing them.

Technology isn’t killing the newspaper, it’s simply changing it.

Regardless of whether or not you’ve ever been online or received an email, the Internet has changed some part of your life and you may not have even realized it.

About a month ago, we installed a new feature to our website that allows us to text breaking news to the cell phones of subscribers.

As a newsguy, this excites me.

We’ve had the capacity to email breaking news for more than a year. We’ve been posting breaking news to our website, www.demopolistimes.com, for years.

However, getting a text message is near instantaneous.

Combined with our daily news emails, breaking news and 24/7 access to online material and our printed products, the Internet has definitely made an impression on the business of news.

It allows us to reach more people than ever before.

And as far as the Internet killing the newspaper, we are currently enjoying a growth in the readership of our printed editions and, last month, our daily Web visitors reached a new record number.

In short, our audience is growing and with a growing audience, a newspaper can thrive.

Thanks to all our readers and advertisers, news is our business and business is good.

Jason Cannon is the editor and publisher of The Demopolis Times.