The Future of News and Paper

WHO WE ARE: We are a student group at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. We study Communication and share a common interest in promoting awareness of News as a public good and that news on paper is essential to our democracy.

WHAT WE'RE DOING: We advocate the continuance of paper in each and every community in the U.S. Our mission has been to create a plan of action that can involve everyone who cares about newspapers.

WHY WE'RE ADVOCATING: We believe that only paper can span the Digital Divide. The Digital Divide is what we call the difference between households who have internet access and those who do not. As many newspaper organizations consider going online-only, we want to remind them and their advertisers that paper has an accessibility and a credibility that the web does not have.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: We are asking that you consider acting yourself by sending a letter to your own community newspaper and its advertisers asking them to continue printing on paper. Please see the letters we have provided below and consider sending one to your local newspapers and one to each of your paper's major advertisers.

YOUR ACTION SPEAKS: A simple letter says a lot and your words will certainly be taken seriously by newspaper publishers and advertisers, especially at this time when they are weighing the costs and benefits of online only news.

LEARN MORE: Some of our inspiration for this advocacy has come directly from media scholar and advocate Robert McChesney. You can view his most recent lecture about the Death of Journalism given at the University of Portland below:






Recently, FreePress.net hosted a summit in Washington DC discussing the changing styles of media in America. There were many speakers including Micheal Copps, chairman of the FCC, Susan Crawford, from the presidents National Economic Council, and former FCC Chairmen Reed Hundt and Micheal Powell. Here they outlined the ways in which media is changing and how different aspects of media are becoming more intertwined with our daily lives. At the summit, FreePress issued a supplement reader for the event which had many new ideas and facts about media regulations and use. This is a free publication which has great insight on the issues at hand. THE ENTIRE READER IS FREE AND AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD. IT CAN BE FOUND AT FREE PRESS SUMMIT BOOK .

Send a Letter to Your Newspaper and Advertisers

Newspaper Publishers and Editors listen when their readers speak-- and so do Advertisers. So consider telling them how you feel about news on paper and the internet.

Writing your newspaper and its advertisers is easy:

1) Simply download the letters below by right-clicking and select save-as to your desktop.

2) Read them and make sure you agree.

3) Print each letter, then sign and date them.

4) Look in your local newspaper for the mailing address for letters. Or if you live in Oregon, you can use our list of newspaper publishers that can be downloaded as an excel file here by right-clicking and saving-as.
Residents of other U.S. States should use our national list here by right-clicking and saving-as.

5) Also in your newspaper, pick out an advertiser and copy down their address.

6) All you'll need now is a couple stamps, envelopes, and mailbox.

7) Congratulations! You're now a media advocate.

8) please be sure to tell your friends to pick up a newspaper and do their own advocacy!

Advocacy Letters Full Text

Here's our letter to Newspaper Publishers:

Dear Newspaper Publisher,

I am writing to you so I can make a case for paper—the real, flat, tangible stuff. It seems many news organizations are “looking ahead” and dreaming about the electronic future of news where paper is obsolete.

However, as a the provider of a public good—the News—you need to know that today many Americans do not have the choice between paper and the electronic future, because they are on the other side of a very real digital divide. If this divide is expanded further by removing news on paper, then a large segment of Americans will be left without the information they need to be informed voters and taxpayers.

I encourage you to avoid the elite status of information, and continue to print news on paper.

In 2008, 21% of U.S. households did not use the Internet and have never used email according to the Park Associates.

In 2007, 55% of white households had broadband, compared to 40% of minority households according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The inexpensive, easy to use, “Model T” of E-readers is still years away.

News on paper is important and still very necessary. The work you do, reporting on the important issues of our time, is a good that everyone needs access to, not just those with a computer and an Internet connection.

Your advertisers know where their audiences are, and they know paper is still the most credible place for their messages to reach wide audiences. Paper has an accessibility, a tangibility, and a credibility that has yet to be duplicated online.

Tell your advertisers that you are committed to keeping a newspaper component to news organization, because there are important audiences that can only be reached on paper.

Every taxpaying American has a right to the news. The audience is there, so lets not price them out of printed journalism. I encourage you to retain your presses and continue printing the news on paper.

Sincerely,

Here's our letter to Newspaper Advertisers:

Dear Newspaper Advertiser,

I am writing to you so I can make a case for paper—the real, flat, tangible stuff. It seems many news organizations are “looking ahead” and dreaming about the electronic future of news where paper is obsolete.

However, as a supporter of a public good—the News—you need to know that today many Americans do not have the choice between paper and the electronic future, because they are on the other side of a very real digital divide. If this divide is expanded further by removing news on paper, then a large segment of Americans will be left without the information they need to be informed voters and taxpayers.

I encourage you to avoid the elite status of information, and continue to buy advertising on actual newspaper.

In 2008, 21% of U.S. households did not use the Internet and have never used email according to the Park Associates.

In 2007, 55% of white households had broadband, compared to 40% of minority households according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The inexpensive, easy to use, “Model T” of E-readers is still years away.

News on paper is important and still very necessary. The work newsrooms do, reporting on the important issues of our time, is a good that everyone needs access to, not just those with a computer and an Internet connection.

As advertisers, you know where your audience is, and you should know that paper is still the most credible place for your messages to reach wide audiences. Paper has an accessibility, a tangibility, and a credibility that has yet to be duplicated online.

Tell your newspaper that you are committed to keep buying advertising on newsprint, because there are important audiences that you can only reach on paper.

Every taxpaying American has a right to the news. The audience is there, so lets not price them out of printed journalism. I encourage you to renew your commitment to newsprint and keep placing your messages on paper.

Sincerely,

WE ALSO RECOMMEND OTHER ADVOCACY GROUPS IN OUR AREA:

http://www.socialnetworkingeducation.blogspot.com/

http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/

http://www.portlandindymedia.org/

http://mediamatters.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twq1u5tW-us

http://www.golittlemedia.blogspot.com/

http://www.fyisexandmedia.blogspot.com/

http://www.cutthestrings2009.blogspot.com/

http://action.centerformediajustice.org/