Online Hoopla

The Associated Press printed a list of newspapers that have dropped publication days. There are 14 Illinois newspapers on the list.

I'm not used to getting my news online. I like reading the actual paper. I don't want to go online to read a more in-depth analysis of a certain story. I want it in my paper. I "follow" certain newspapers on Twitter and in more than 20+ Tweets I've received from them, I can honestly say I've only actually clicked on a handful. The headlines are not that enticing to me. When reading the paper, I scan through the pages, but stop more frequently because of graphics and photos. I end up reading stories that have headlines that did not catch my eye.

On Web sites, there may be a photo, but then there is also a slide show which I need to make an effort to look through. This also makes me wonder if the main photo that accompanies the story was chosen carefully, or if the photo was just good enough, and it didn't matter if the photo was perfect since there is a whole database of photos users can click through.

Of course, to every issue there are numerous pros and cons. Although I'll miss looking to printed pages for my news, online news has its perks in the unlimited amount of space provided by the Web and also in the instantaneous publication of news right as it happens.