The State of the American Newspaper

When that newscast aired on San Francisco television in 1981, reading a newspaper on a computer screen seemed unthinkable. Almost three decades later, millions of people get their news online -- for free. That's a habit that’s helped drive The San Francisco Chronicle – and others – to the brink of extinction. Papers around the country are bleeding. Massive layoffs, restructuring plans, and bankruptcies have rocked the world of print journalism. Venerable papers like The Rocky Mountain News and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer have stopped their presses. The Christian Science Monitor printed its last edition last week, to be replaced by an online-only publication. Here in New Hampshire, many papers are tightening their belts – including The Union Leader, which announced over the weekend that it will stop publishing separate Friday and Saturday editions for readers outside the Manchester area.

We’re dedicating today's show to explore new strategies, business models and perspectives on the state of the newspaper industry and the future of journalism. We’ll dig beneath accepted ideas of why traditional advertising doesn’t work online, why Americans don’t seem to care about the fate of their local papers, and whether we even need newspapers anymore. We’ll also look at how journalism schools are adapting programs to emerging formats and demands.

We welcome David Folkenflik, who covers media issues for NPR, to reflect on some of these issues. We'll also talk with Carroll Doherty, Associate Director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

David Folkenflik's Media Circus blog

Pew Research Center: "Stop the Presses? Many Americans Wouldn't Care a Lot if Local Papers Folded"