Other Models

You'll be seeing a lot of these -- stories about daily papers going digital and other stories about other types of papers that somehow are succeeding. I mentioned David Carr's media column the other week, and you should all make a point of reading him every Monday in the NYT (in the business section.) Carr has a very interesting history. He was the editor of an alternative weekly in DC, I think, before coming to the Times. Before that he was actually a crack addict (he wrote a book last year on the subject.) He's a very smart and funny and sharp writer, and he knows newspapers and magazines inside out. Here's his column from yesterday, written from Austin, Texas, where he was covering SXSW.

And here's a more newsy piece about the impending demise of daily print in Michigan.

I don't mean for these to be too depressing. As we discussed in class, there will still be plenty of writing, blogging, and web reporting. The more aware you are of the landscape, the more prepared you'll be for whatever turns you need to take.