the life of newspapers

is the age of newspapers finally coming to an end? as i find it boring to be browsing through the newspapers, might as well read a magazine which i find informative. one of the article entitles, how to save our newspapers. it writes about the survival of American newspapers agencies are hanging on a thread. this is because there is an increasing number of readers who read online. isn't it a good thing that readers are reading? but the problem is readers are not paying while reading online. four centuries ago till recently, revenues of newspapers commonly come from subscription, news stand and advertising. however, the trend is changing, increasing number of readers is resorting to online papers which they can read for free.

hmmm...i am too one of the online reader. that is enough to qualify me to comment on this trend. accordingly, when online newspapers started, they took the move of allowing readers to read for free but once you start charging for access, people might be reluctant to do so. hence, the american agencies are searching for new business models to ensure survival in the long term. the co-founder of time also emphasises that over dependence on advertising revenue might have an impact on the objectivity of the writers. this can be interpreted as an insult to the journalism profession which focuses on integrity, objectivity instead of profit seeking. well, well, hopefully my much beloved newspapers do not fall into default category. after all, newspapers is one of my source of entertainment.

but no worries, another article has published that while american and european counterparts are facing increasing difficulty in sustaining themselves, the other side of the world seems to be enjoying huge successes. asian news agency seems to be doing rather well. one could say every cloud has a silver lining. while asian citizens face huge problems of internet connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure, these provide some sort of buffer to the newspapers industry. and asians also prefer the feel of reading newspapers every morning while sipping their favourite coffee.....how true is that. i used to wake up early Sunday morning to read The Star papers. Now, i am finding things to do on  a sunday. Maybe, it seems that while western countries are suffering in so many ways, asian are actually booming. this is what chinese always call, "feng shui lun liu zhuan". i think western citizens have been doing so well that they have forgotten to appreciate the good life that they always have. time for the asian economies to lead the world, hopefully nothing comes that screw the whole thing up.

for me, the touch of the newspapers is quite memorable. although the newspapers makes your fingers stain with black marks, it is the sign of the simple pleasure that you get. in a month's time, i will be enjoying simple pleasure again. so looking forward to it. Hopefully time can just fly to december without going through november. december, my favourite month of the year. there is Christmas to begin with.... =)