Newspapers Can Survive If They Dump Partisan Politics and Write As Independents

The newspaper industry is in such dire straits that newspaper unions and journalists in many of the major newspapers have agreed to take 15 to 20% pay cut, something that is unheard of in that industry. Of course, they also know as does the general public that if the newspaper industry doesn’t do something drastic right now they won’t be around in the future. Last year, the president of Google noted that the newspaper industry is not long for this world, and he had doubted it would last more than another decade, an ominous prediction, but it was right on the money.

Our newspapers a dying breed. The newer generations do not read the newspaper very much but the baby boomers still love the newspapers. Still, that may not be enough to keep them going. Further, during this last presidential election the newspapers had way too many stories that were politically jaded and more opinion pieces than actual news. People like to read the news and make up their own decision they do not like to be told what to think or how to think; especially the baby boomers.

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The Evolving Brands of Political Parties

Ten years ago when someone would think of the Republican party, web savvy and grassroots would not be words that come to mind. I remember George W. Bush showcasing his tech ignorance when he used the term internets in the 2000 presidential campaign and most famously during the 2004 presidential debates. During the 2008 campaign, John McCain admitted he never felt the need to use email. It’s easy to see why Republicans have been caricatured as a party of old men out of touch with the technology.

In 2000, the term grassroots would not be a commonly used word to describe conservatives. Grassroots campaigning belonged to the progressive Democratic party. The Democratic party has always been branded as the party of the common man and political activist. From Vietnam to the Iraqi war, the progressives were the ones organizing at a community level and protesting for or against a cause.

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