From Newspapers to Viewspapers
by Duncan O'Leary
Peter Preston wrote an article in the Observer yesterday that’s worth a read if you’re interested in the plight/future of newspapers in the age of 24hr news and many-to-many communication. He suggests that newspapers are not doomed as some have suggested, but will have to adapt in order to survive in this new climate. Specifically, he suggests that “the old mantras of fairness, balance and superficial neutrality” are likely to be left behind as newspapers become ‘viewspapers’, tending towards the campaining style of Fox News in America, The Independent in this country, and bloggers in general. His analysis seems to raise a few further questions, though, as to whether newspapers will be able to continue living double lives as both consumer-products and vehicles for democratic accountability.