Tracy Brady Cartoons

So much debate has been generated by Newsweek columnist Daniel Lyons’ article titled “Don’t Bail Newspapers Out. Let Them Die and Get Out Of The Way” published yesterday, and might I add, irresponsibly so.

Mr. Lyons’ argument that print media should not be given government bailouts or any other kind of public funding because the medium is now archaic, irrelevant and bound for certain demise is an irrational one. It shows thoughtlessness on Mr. Lyons’ part in that it does not take into account the many persons that presently have no access to electronic media either due to beign impoverished or a lack of such facilities in their environs. Their existence is the main reason for my dissent with his point of view.

Not that Mr. Lyons and other print media detractors like him aren’t entitled to their opinions on the subject. I am certain they feel it to be the obligation of every web content publisher, like me, to support their view. And yes, for that very reason, and the fact that I have seen for myself that the public’s reliance on print media to obtain information has shifted online, I agree with Mr. Lyons et all that print media seems bound to go the way of “the steam engine” and “the horse-drawn carriage”. The fact is, my publishing activity depends upon print media’s demise, and yet, I don’t agree that print media should be let alone to die. Too many people for one reason or another still do not own computers or can not own computers and so remain dependent on newspapers for information.

Arguably, the genesis of wide scale electronic publishing came as a welcome alternative to the notoriously difficult to obtain approvals of print media conglomerates where issuing content was concerned. It is also the cheaper alternative. Well, cheaper AFTER you’ve obtained the still significantly expensive transmital devices (pc, mac, iphone, cell phone, etc) and the accompanying internet service.

My disagreement does not negate the fact that that there are many pervasive problems with print media. Mainly that what is published is often the views of one set of individuals who decide what is relevant and what is not, but that is often true of online mega publishers too. Case in point, Newsweek, who has permitted Mr. Lyons’ opinionated article to be published to a wide audience as a part of their brand’s content, however one sided his article is. (Hey, by the way, does Mr. Lyon’s mean that Newsweek should quit publishing its printed magazine’s too?)

Simply put, Print Media may very well die, perhaps sooner than later, but it is not our responsibility as publishers to agitate for it, ecspecially when our elected alternative, electronic media, is not an option for some. Or don’t they count Mr. Lyons?

Addionally, an unspoken truth for even the most successful of online publishers is that we still aspire to have our content presented in the still well respected and in-demand medium of print. And many who say this is not the case, are not being truthful.

An unsaid fear: if a mega virus shuts down electronics and sends media into an E-pocalyptic world, then we’ll all be happy again for the printing press. And the riding messenger. And the town crier.