Sales of British “Independent” paper have slumped from a high of more than 400,000 in 1989 to just over 40,000 today. It has just announced that it will no longer be printed but will go fully digital, yet another casualty of the tech age.
A healthy Press, and properly funded investigative reporters, are vital if we are to critique and comment on government and challenge those in power. Unfortunately, the mainline press is now mostly in the hands of very rich people, some of whom have very definite agendas. The political websites are perceived to be either too many or too obscure to make a difference. This might, of course, change. Regrettably, none of the old news organisations have so far found online business models that make real money. Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev, who own both papers, have spent more than £65m propping them The Independent and its sister Sunday edition, but have now run out of patience.
I thought The Independent was started 30 years ago by journalist appalled at the purchase of The Times by Murdoch, but wherever the leaders of the exodus came from, The Independent was greeted with enthusiasm by those who appreciated honest journalism, “fusing free market economics with social liberalism”, genuinely free of proprietorial influence and party affiliation. But The Independent on Sunday never made a profit, and Murdoch cut the price of the Times savagely to put the whole enterprise out of business. The digital revolution finally killed it – young people are no more reading print than they are travelling in stage coaches
Thus we now have The Guardian alone to put the non-right wing point of view, a sad loss. Personally, I like a printed newspaper just as I like an old-fashioned printed book
My wife and I came across a bunch of press photographers outside the home of actress Liz Hurley some while ago. I asked one photographer how long he would be there. He replied,”We are all waiting for the writers, and they’ll make up a story”. “Are you joking?,” I asked. “Not at all. It’s all made up”.
And this is why, in my lifetime, I have seen the British public become less informed and infinitely more insular and preoccupied with trivia. To be cynical, it’s how the politicians like it.
Despite being of the younger generation, I value the printed newspaper very highly. It was my parents’ purchase of the Telegraph every Saturday that first got me into politics. My Dad would make me read it at a very young age to improve my reading and writing skills. Reading it got me into politics for the very first time, even if I would never think about it for the rest of the week. These days I’m more reliant on online editions of newspapers, but my parents still buy a physical copy and I still read it when I’m back at their house.
If the Guardian were in danger of going out of print, I would probably donate to it. I don’t agree with everything the Guardian says at all, but it’s important to have an alternative point of view now that the Independent is gone. The tabloids are far too low-information, the Times too favourable to the establishment, and the Telegraph is obviously conservative. Having said that, I would recommend the New Statesman to anyone looking for a left-leaning publication; in many ways, it’s more leftwing than the Guardian. I would also recommend magazines above newspapers for in-depth coverage of current affairs: the Economist, the Spectator, Time and Foreign Policy are my personal favourites. Magazines tend to be less partisan than newspapers, which in my view makes them more interesting.
Having said all that, I’m very grateful for the digital revolution. It’s allowed me to learn so much more in such a short space of time and for virtually no cost. The Internet gives a voice to more extreme groups and minority groups that otherwise wouldn’t be heard. I agree with JS Mill- as many different views should be heard as possible so that we can decide on the best one, even if it means offending our sensibilities. The internet does this far better than the printed or broadcast media.