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The ipods of 1690

Newspapers in decline? About to disappear some time soon? Nah! says the ex-editor of USA Today.

His says in a talk given the other day - as reported on PoynterOnLine in "Ex-USA Today editor: Imagine the newspaper being invented after the modem":

"They are the journalists who reported about racial injustice during the height of the civil rights movement, helping to fuel freedom through the power of words and images.

They're the war correspondents and photographers who risked their lives to tell the stories of our men and women in uniform and their battles in defense of liberty.

They're the muckrakers and investigative reporters who have challenged the powerful and courageously reported stories that would otherwise have gone untold.

And yet despite that heroic history, the news business - and particularly the newspaper business - is in rough shape these days. There seems to be a collective sense both inside and outside the newspaper industry that news in print is about to disappear.

I do think there's room for some perspective. Yes, it's true that there have been significant layoffs at America's newspapers, but there have also been huge layoffs at Home Depot and no one is predicting the demise of hammers.

You have to separate the troubled economy from the special challenges facing the news industry, and it's important that we not undervalue the power of print.

I can certainly understand why newspapers are not viewed as trendy. After all, they were really the IPods of 1690."

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