Meanwhile, in Columbia journalism school . . .

They're getting ready to change the curriculum. The new changes -- if approved -- will be introducing new media skills and, significantly, business skills into the journalism program. In an era of journalist entrepreneurs (who are creating their own jobs) like today, that sounds like a good idea.

By the way, traditional TV still looks good

While we're on the new media subject (and I don't think we're getting off it anytime soon), MediaDailyNews online reports on a panel that says traditional television viewing has a bright future. In fact, one of the experts says, average TV viewing increased five minutes a day last year -- that five minutes alone, he says, is more time than spent on Internet video.

How to save your newspaper

Because I don't regularly read Time magazine, even in free form, I missed this story on saving newspapers. Because I have students who do read it, I was alerted to it. Walter Isaacson, former managing editor of Time, suggests that publications must charge for content online, else they will die. It's totally an anecdotal experience, but I think I'm seeing a groundswell of movement in this direction.

Does social media work as an advertising vehicle?

At least one media expert doesn't think so. But he does think Twitter and search media are great. Social media, in his view, are "fantastic at collecting data, behavioral stuff, you can use at some other point, but it's greatly overstated," in terms of advertising.

Is this the future? 4 Michigan markets lose newspapers

New York Times reports four areas of Michigan to lose their daily newspapers, including Ann Arbor. Three of the areas will still have three printed editions a week in addition to an Internet presence. That strategy may preserve the ability to restore editions if the economy so dictates once we're out of the really bad times we are in now, which is not a bad thing since nobody really can predict the future and all four were money machines in the not too distant past. The four are owned by advance.com, the Internet arm of the Newhouse Company.

We asked what happens when a town loses it's newspaper; here's an answer

Los Angeles Times reports on a Colorado community that lost its local paper, and just decided to publish one itself. My prediction is that this is going to happen more and more. Publishing a newspaper doesn't take the huge initial investment it did in the past with computer publishing software easy to use and inexpensive. The key is not building up a huge debt. It's debt service that's killing newspapers these days, along with overexpansion by clueless corporate ownership. Anyway, this is an interesting story.

Newspaper bashers' motives questioned

In a commentary at Editor & Publisher, Randy Siegel, president of Parade Publications, questions the motives of some prominent critics of newspapers, including some who we've liked to here. While a bit self-serving (Siegel is co-founder of the Newspaper Project), it still points out some blatant conflicts of interest. For example, the list of 10 newspapers most likely to fail soon run on Time magazine's site was written not by a Time staffer but one at a Wall Street company specializing in stock market tips, Siegel says. Another critic, he says, is building a cottage industry out of speeches, articles and books describing the impending doom of newspapers. As in the previous item, it's not to say the critics are wrong, but for new media to have any credibility, it had better start giving us some ability to determine whether writers have conflicts.

Another vote for letting 'em die

Writer Sonia Arrison at TechNewsWorld likens newspapers to buggy whips in an essay that predicts, as do others by many other tech writers, that we'll just have lots of media outlets rather than just a few major media ones. She's quite confident that this will happen (frequently using the word "will" rather than "may" when predicting the future), and that is one of the reasons I'm doubtful. Like so many of the new news outlets, she doesn't offer any evidence except for citing one writer about technical coverage (if any subject would be covered well on the Internet, it should be technical coverage). Like so much of the new media, the essay is rich in opinion -- which may come true, but it's still relatively unsupported opinion. 

What happens when a town loses its newspaper?

According to a study reported in Time magazine, it can be pretty unpleasant, including lower voting rates and less civic involvement. It was a small study on a limited area (Cincinnati's Post was the closed newspaper), but some of the trends are clear.

A thought: What if the Internet dies?

Several stories recently set me to wondering. What if all the newspapers quit publishing print since "everybody's getting their news online," then the Internet dies? Several technical problems are beginning to impact the Web; meanwhile, advertising doesn't seem to support as many sites are are out there (see "The End of the Free Lunch . . . Again). Internet companies are laying people off and scaling back operations since it seems that online advertising can support only so many sites. Overall, Internet advertising is off so far this year. Meanwhile, Online Media Daily reports concerns that network providers' fooling around with information adds privacy concerns that might challenge the free Internet itself. 

Are magazines dying?

Are all magazine dying? No. Only the ones that deserve to, according to The Big Money from Slate. The essay by Gabriel Sherman says that the magazines being closed don't have a reason for being, and he blames greedy publishers. "Great magazines have built enduring relationships with their readers that Facebook and Tumblr still aspire to. But in a race to grow their businesses, publishers put advertising first and editorial excellence second," he writes. An interesting look at the magazine business.

The newspaper is dead; is journalism?

A fascinating, historical, account of revolution in communication is tied to the present in this essay by blogger Clay Shirky. A key point: "Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism." He goes to the beginnings of the printing press, pointing out that when movable type was invented, it created all kinds of societal changes and changed the old world forever. He postulates that we are at this place now. The old world -- print -- is being replaced. By what? He says we won't know until well after it happens. A thoughtful essay.