Quote of the Weekend: Jaded Edition

We need to stop wasting time talking about the Internet and all the sexy new technology that does this and that with news content. We need to be blunt.

~Richard L. Connor, Editor and Publisher of the Times Leader and president of Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company, in his Sunday morning editorial on the change the newspaper industry faces.

Note: I posted a lengthy response as a comment, but have to wait for it to get moderated and accepted. The gist of my response was “Look, Mr. Newspaper Man, time for the tough talk, I won’t mature my way out of screens and ‘modern day version of Morse code on my PDA’ just because that’s what has happened before. Tradition is not change, sir.”

Update (3:59 p.m.): The moderators at hand over at the Times Leader spared my comment, here it is:

Dave Levy said…

So, just to clarify, the future of the newspaper is the fact that people like me (a 25-year-old who stares at a screen most of the day) will get sick of it and mature to the Newspaper? But how could I leave a comment to the editor of the paper when I grow up and get over this screen? Sir, I absolutely respect your opinion, but you are relying on tradition, in fact the furthest possible thing from change, as a justification for the future of your industry. When the day comes that I cross the bridge into life events announcing engagements, marriages, children, and professional success, I will certainly buy that hard copy. But I will also be able to e-mail a copy to my family nationwide wherever they may be – instantaneously. And in terms of discovery: I found this article, didn’t I? Google, to be honest, and then I’ll link to it on Twitter and more people will find it. Serendipity is a fun way to read a newspaper, but it certainly isn’t the only avenue for discovery.