Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable

Clay Shirky’s article “Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable” outlines some of the major problems newspapers and journalism are facing today. Shirky outlines the history of newspapers, the recent history leading up to the internet, the present, and the future of newspapers. Throughout the article, Shirky describes ways journalists thought they would deal with the Internet, and then the “unthinkable” scenario. According to Shirky, the “unthinkable” scenario regarding newspapers and the evolution of the internet is that “The ability to share content wouldn’t shrink, it would grow.”

During the 1990’s before the explosion and widespread usage of the internet, many journalists came up with ideas on how to integrate themselves with the internet. The problem with these ideas were that none of them were taking into account the fact that the entire system may shift online, not just certain aspects. Some ideas journalists came up with to protect their industry included educating people on copyright laws, making software more coveted, paying for usage and even more harsh, suing for copyright infringers. While all of these options seemed plausible, they were missing one key option that could ensue: The Unthinkable Scenario.

The Unthinkable Scenario suggests that rules and regulations regarding the Internet aforementioned would not work, and that content sharing and usage would become the normal. This scenario virtually wipes out the entire print media industry. This unthinkable scenario appears to becoming reality.

Shirky draws a parallel between the invention of the printing press in 1500 and what is happening today to journalism. He notes that Elizabeth Eisenstein noticed that many historians ignored the actual transition from before the printing press to after the printing press was developed. She ponders, “How did we get from the world before the printing press to the world after it? What was the revolution itself like?” Shirky goes on to mention that the revolution was chaotic, and it was not a smooth transition to the printing press.

Ironically, today we face a similar revolution: the dissolution of the printing press. The biggest problem with print journalism today is the fact that printing presses are obscenely expensive and time consuming to run. While in the near future, printing press will still hold some responsibility, such as “flooding the zone-covering every angle of a huge story-to the daily grind of attending the City Council meeting, just in case.”

In relation to the expenses of the printing press, from an economic standpoint, the newspaper business is dwindling. One particular way Shirky talks about this is with his quote “ ‘Your gonna miss us when were gone!’ Has never been much of a business model.” The newspapers don’t know what to do or who exactly is covering the news currently.

According to Shirky, we are living through 1500 again, in the transition period. There are many unknowns in what is going on with newspapers, “now is the time for experiments” he states. However, while there may be ups and downs on what is going on, concern and panic shouldn’t occur because, at the end of the day only one thing matters: journalism. “Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism.”

I think Shirky outlines important points in this article. While journalists, and society alike should be somewhat concerned because we don't know what is coming in the future, instead of worry we should experiment with this new age, and sift through what works and what doesn't work in the new media. While the result of this revolution may leave print newspapers behind, in the long-run journalism as a whole will be stronger, and society will benefit because of it.

-Check out bestselling author Seth Godin's viewpoint on the disappearance of newspapers here.

-Global perspective of the U.S. mainstream media from Russia Today on You Tube.

-Here is a brief yet concise You Tube video from freelance journalist Michael Stroud discussing the future of print newspapers.

Questions for discussion:

1.Do you think things will settle in the new media like it did after the invention and establishment of the printing press? Or, have we reached an age of technology where things will constantly be changing, and we will be in a constant transition period?

2.Do you think a micropayment system such as Itunes could eventually work successfully for online newspapers?

3. Economically speaking, do you think journalism can prosper?