The widely-held perception among media critics is that newspapers are a dying breed: A medium running dry on funds and ways to make its product seem lucrative to ad buyers.
Of course, it doesn't help matters when the industry's best and brightest writers are taking flight to the greener pastures of television or the Internet. One such print expatriate is David Aldridge, who started his sportswriting career at The Washington Post before dabbling in television while working as a reporter for TNT and ESPN. He also wrote for ESPN.com. Several weeks ago, Aldridge announced that he was leaving his current writing gig at The Philadelphia Inquirer to focus on his work at TNT.
Aldridge's departure is another in a long procession of talented sportswriters migrating away from print to emerging mediums. Tony Kornheiser decided Monday Night Football offered more exposure than The Washington Post, Kevin Blackistone took a buyout at The Dallas Morning News before taking up with XM Radio and AOL Sports, and ESPN.com has lured writers such as Tim Griffin, Pat Forde and Heather Dinich away from their old papers.
Losing that sort of talent is certainly a downer, but the newspaper industry shouldn't fret, according to Aldridge. In an interview with the sports blog "The Big Lead", Aldridge discussed his love for the medium and explained why papers aren't facing an absolute dead end.
I think the smart papers understand that this is not a death sentence, but a transition. It is not a bad thing that more people are creating their own media reality, whether it’s with the music on their I Pods or the favorite channels lists they have, or what choices they make on the internet. Papers have to be part of that buffet, but the delivery system is going to be different, that’s all. We don’t ride in carriages driven by horses anymore because we found that getting in a car was faster. That’s all this is. Information will be distributed. It is up to papers to find a way to distribute it online in an entertaining way and in a way that they can monetize. “Circulation” will surely drop, but the total number of eyeballs on a story may not, and that’s all that matters;
Aldridge said newspapers may need to take a very bold step in the near future: Making their most popular columnists exclusively available online. ESPN.com has already started this by placing recognizable reporter Buster Olney and well-respected author Rob Neyer behind its "ESPN INsider" curtain.
Who knows if readers will bite on the idea of paying for the material of Jason Whitlock or Bill Plaschke. Newspapers may have to find out someday.
- Asher Fusco