6 Newspaper Sections Rendered Obsolete by the Web
We all know that newspapers are dying. But which sections are already dead?
Front Page/A1
The front page of a daily newspaper is likely to contain news that, unless you don’t read blogs, don’t follow Digg, aren’t on Twitter, don’t read online news sites and have no computer at all, is old news. Most newspapers now favor thoughtful analysis over breaking news stories, but you can get thoughtful analysis on blogs, Digg, Twitter and elsewhere.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor have been obliterated by online comment sections attached to individual articles. Why read the random musings of a handful of selected readers when you can read hundreds of comments on any one story or issue? Better yet, newspaper readers now have access to millions of blogs dedicated to every topic under the sun.
Restaurant Reviews
Who cares what one guy or gal thinks about the latest restaurant opening? A quick search through Yelp, CitySearch or any of their clones will reveal thousands of Average Joe’s writing about hundreds of restaurants near you. Even turning to the newspaper for simple suggestions has been been outmoded by tools like the iPhone’s Urbanspoon application.
Movie Reviews
Just as Yelp has replaced print media as the go-to for restaurant reviews sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.com are kicking newspaper ass. Why read what one jaded critic has to say, when you can read the reviews of hundreds of jaded critics, all in one place.
Weather
The little box with the happy smiling sun and the day’s forecast? It’s probably either oversimplified or overrun with useless statistics, and on top of that, it likely isn’t accurate for every area the newspaper serves. That’s where the many online weather tools come in, giving web users accurate forecasts right down to the street level.
Classifieds
1995. The year Craigslist was launched and the beginning of the end of newspaper classified sections. Oh well, the tiny ads were taking up space anyway.
3 Sections That Aren’t Going Anywhere (or Newspapers Are Really Screwed)
Obituaries
People will die and as long as they continue to do so, there will be journalists there to write nice things about them.
Opinion
Before newspapers were confined to concepts like impartiality and fairness, the printed word was made up of opinion pieces (that may or may not have been based on, you know, facts). Even at their most basic form, newspapers will always contain someone’s opinion, albeit with a lot more fact-checking.
Comics
There’s nothing like spending a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and a page full of comics. And while many comic strips are now available online, newspapers provide the real estate for all of them to be read in one place.
