How is it that I find the neatest commentary on the current world not in the news sites that I frequent, but in the webcomics that I read?
Joel Watson over at Hijinks Ensue has a great commentary today on the new digital newspaper (The Daily) being released by Apple and Newscorp for the Ipad.
“I never understood why big media always seemed to argue that the death of newspaper (ie newsPRINT) and the death of journalism were one in the same…Yes, we still need people to research, write and distribute the news in a professional and organized way. And we still need resources we can trust more than the average Livejournal. What we don’t need is someone in a ’74 El Camino throwing a bundle of paper at our door at 5am. Keep making the news, just stop printing it.”
I agree with this idea so wholeheartedly that it practically resonates in my bones. Just because “print” is dead doesn’t mean “news” or “journalism” or even “literature” has to be. Words are words, it doesn’t matter how we freaking see them. And frankly, can we really consider ourselves ecologically conscious if we don’t try to curb our printed material?
Yeah yeah, I hear you. You’re saying something along the lines of “but you don’t get the tactical pleasure of turning the page with a kindle!” or maybe “but my book never fritzs or runs out of battery!” or even “how dare you contribute to the downfall of the written word you horrible terrible person!”
Don’t get me wrong. I love my books. I currently have two overflowing bookshelves and three boxes of books in storage that I’m desperately hoping to get shipped to me soon. I love how they smell, I love how they feel, I love how they look on my shelf. I am not arguing that print should die. I’m just agreeing with the above idea that the medium is separate from the essence. Stories have existed since before the Gutenberg press, even before written language, and they will continue on as long as there is some medium to carry them. And, given the choice between wasting resources and not, I’m usually in the “not” camp.
And frankly, my kindle has its pluses. For one, I can sync to the net and turn on the notes and see all of the highlights and notes that anyone has ever made in that book. Or if I vaguely remember something that I want to refer to but don’t know where it is, I can use the search function.
Not to mention the potential it has for authors. I’ve read two books so far that were put out free by new authors, books that I never would have bought from a store in a million years, but that I read because they were offered for free in the kindle store. Here’s a chance for a new writer to get their work out and seen by the public because it’s absolutely free. And honestly, if you’re a writer with a big enough following, couldn’t it be possible for you to release an ebook version yourself? I’d pay a couple bucks for some short stories from some authors that I knew, heck, I’ve already done it. What’s keeping you from releasing something like that on your website so that you get the money directly without having to go through a publisher?
Of course, there’s always the problem of making money with online print, and that’s one of the reasons why so many people get into a bit of tizzy when it’s discussed. Not to mention problems with ownership, piracy and the very real problem of all of the jobs that get lost as demand for print publishing dries up.
But the demand is drying up. So instead of lamenting, we should adapt and adjust our way of looking at the world. Honestly? It probably won’t even turn out to be that bad.