Is newspaper production a dying industry?

Is newspaper production a dying industry?

Becca Meyer-Rasmussen, Staff Writer

School newspapers. We’ve all read of them, and we all love them. However, many other schools have ceased production of their school’s monthly newspaper. 

Schools no longer see a value in a hard copy of the newspaper, and they have turned to a completely digitized form of news. This is due to two things: cost and the increase in phone and technology usage. 

Although East does recognize these truths, we also realize that the love the students hold for our newspapers would be mostly lost if we moved to solely technology-based journalism.

The teacher of The East Vision, Katie Michell, said that every day she reads about another school that has flipped from a newspaper to completely online. 

It is true that newspapers are declining, but online journalism is still alive and active. I think the value of holding a newspaper in my hands is far too great to give it up for an online version. 

Although the downfalls of printing a monthly newspaper are obvious, The East Vision does not see a full flip anytime soon. Our support from students and our community makes the cost worth it. 

Newspapers are essential in close-knit communities because it acts a source to create more commonality among the people. It shares the important stories and maybe starts a conversation. Newspapers are also useful to shed light in areas that may have otherwise been kept in the dark. Although an online newspaper can tell the same stories, it’s rare that the same effect is had. The way a newspaper is so permanent allows for the stories to sink in and it resonates more with the audience.

               The East Vision works tirelessly every month in order to produce a newspaper with quality, entertaining, yet important stories. The time spent on this newspaper really all does happen while putting the paper together. That could be another issue avoided with an online newspaper. 

              The editors at The East Vision are not ready to give up this quintessential of high school. They come to class everyday full of ideas and ready to put in the work to make this happen. However, when the newspaper is finally released it makes it all worth it.