Stop the Presses: Can Newspapers Survive in the Digital Age?

Abstract

(Portion of Introduction) The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution is a powerful piece, giving Americans freedom of speech - and freedom of the press. Interpreting those freedoms and fighting for them in Washington and local and national courts has been a skirmish since the beginning of our country. There are those who just don't want you to know things you are entitled to know. Those who see too many abuses by the media have agreed with journalist A.J. Liebling, who said, "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one" (Aug. 25, 2004 Slate.com). But a new challenge - some would say more dangerous than any facing journalism in the past - is threatening our cherished freedom of press. It is called technology. Newspapers are desperately trying to adapt to the explosion of the Internet and the high-tech devices that make communication more widespread and portable. In the balance is our right to freedom of the press. Some would argue with fewer gatekeepers we will have a flood of unfiltered information. Let us decide what is best and what we should know. Just look at 2010's big story: the release by the group WikiLeaks of classified and secret U.S. State Department documents that not only embarrassed our country and others, but proved to be enlightening on how the powerful do business. Internet activist Julian Assange, who runs the international non-profit organization, is in hot water on several fronts. But as Al Tompkins points out in his Poynter Institute piece, "What 2011 holds for investigative reporting": "Imagine a Julian Assange in every state and major city in the U.S.," some investigative reporters see the controversial leaks as a turning point that will lead to "an increase in nonprofit investigative journalism organizations that partner with legacy newsrooms to produce meaningful work" (Jan. 3, 2011 Poynter.org).