{"id":816,"date":"2008-02-17T12:17:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-17T18:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/?p=816"},"modified":"2008-12-01T21:28:01","modified_gmt":"2008-12-01T21:28:01","slug":"the-decline-of-newspapers-nothing-to-do-with-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/2008\/02\/the-decline-of-newspapers-nothing-to-do-with-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"The decline of newspapers – nothing to do with journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

D<\/span>eclining newspaper readership has nothing to do with journalism<\/span>. Should I say that again for the hard of hearing?<\/p>\n

Amongst those not listening, the normally wise and perceptive Howard Owens<\/a>:<\/p>\n

If our readers so easily recognize that what we do isn\u2019t trustworthy for its accuracy both in fact and spirit, then how can we expect to retain them as readers?<\/p>\n

Something needs to change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Deaf, too, at New Media Bytes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

My guess is…journalism didn\u2019t deliver what people wanted. Readers spoke with their wallets and readership rates. The same happened with U.S. automakers, which failed to produce vehicles coveted by the American public.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wrong. And wronger. In case one, the decline of newspapers has almost nothing to do with the lengthy moral failures of print journalism. And in case two, how do you explain growing newspaper circulation in countries like India? They must be practising a kind of super-journalism!<\/p>\n

I could call it a tribute to journalism\u2019s culture of self-flagellation<\/span> – but it is actually a typical human response: seeking to explain events beyond our control by reference to ourselves.<\/p>\n

Consider.<\/p>\n