A friend passed along a blog post regarding a New York Times article about plunging circulation at major newspapers. I thought it interesting on three counts.

The first is that the blogger highlights the fact that by the time the story is on a page (if it even gets to a page):

"...the story will be nearly 24 hours old, and people like me won't even bother reading it.

In fact, now that I mention it, I can't even remember the last time I sat down and flipped through a newspaper instead of reading it online. The layouts suck, the content is getting weaker and weaker (the Free Press is especially pathetic), and I hate getting that nasty ink all over my hands. I know I'm not alone. Kids my age just don't want to deal with newspapers anymore, and who can blame us?

The second are the comments on the post, which reiterates the troubles newspapers are having and also suggest that it may not be only younger readers who are falling off the newspaper wagon. Head over and read Big Shock: Newspaper circulation plunges and/or share your thoughts below!

The third is that the whole issue plays into a realm that I've spent a large part of my adult life working in: the creation and redefinition of local media. From the Northern Michigan Journal to the Leelanau News to Absolute Michigan, my motto has always been "Think globally, surf locally."
To see where newspapers might go, have a look at Hyper-local Hero from Fast Company. It's a profile of self-titled "internet punk" Rob Curley, of whom a Newspaper Association of America exec says: "There's so much gloom and doom that gets bounced around this industry, people are hungry for his wild-eyed optimism. They look at what he's done and say, 'Wow, who knew a newspaper could do this?'"

Interested in your thoughts of about what a local paper should become and also what you'd like to see Absolute Michigan become!