The Future of the Press in America

Perhaps it's just the future of the press on the coasts.

I attended a conference for business women today. (No I haven't become a business woman. I'm perfectly happy being a useless and purposeless little old lady, thankyouverymuch. I volunteered to help out a friend and her daughter, business women both.) The conference featured motivational speakers who told me how to improve my customer base (more cats?), maximize my profitability, and improve my attitude (which could certainly use an upgrade). One of the speakers told us how to get more publicity.

According to her, in a decade or so both print and broadcast journalism will be dead. We will be getting all our information from the wordwide web -- and we are moving in that direction as I write. Readers are far more interested in hearing about celebrities than traditional news events. I was dismayed to hear that. Despite the fact that our Sacramento Bee had diminished in size recently, I remain a faithful reader. I also watch Channel three local news and NBC National news most evenings. I do check Yahoo news two or three times a day to see if anything I really care about has happened (and it usually has not) but I depend on the Incredible Shrinking Bee and KCRA's charming reporters to keep me abreast of what is happening in my own town. Without those sources how would I know that the Basketball-Player-Who-Would be Mayor is under Federal sanction for for a little hanky panky with the fed's funds or that our seemingingly incompetent head of the City/County Library System finally resigned.

I have an additional concern that only half of the people who live in our household actually use the internet. Without the newspaper and television, half of our household would have no idea of what is going on in the world. I actually know several people who are younger than I am who simply "don't do computers". Perhaps that's a good thing. Who needs those out-of-touch folks anyway. Maybe by the 2020 election the Republicans will dare to go one better than NRA Barbie and Sun City Ken with a ticket featuring Brad Pitt and Brittney Spears.