1. The death of print newspapers as a primary news source for the majority of consumers took place in 1989. Print newspapers will always exist somewhere, but the Internet officially became a big news source in 1989. Why 1989? That is the year that Internet service first became available to the general public all across the United States, and many people took advantage of the new technology immediately. By 1992, I was using Prodigy. Remember that ISP? While early connections might have been slow and we didn't have a ton of fancy search engines, we did gain a news source with unlimited potential.
2. Traditional news media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television must embrace social media or risk becoming yesterday's news. The list of major news stories that broke first on Twitter is growing every day. Remember "The Miracle on the Hudson" and how the first news of it popped up on Twitter? Within minutes a Twitter user was being interviewed live on television by a major cable news network. Not only is social media a great way to distribute news, but it's the best way to connect with readers.
3. A large percentage of editors and publishers working in today's news industry lack the sense of urgency they should have in this changing media landscape. Why are some newspapers and magazine still lacking a real presence on Twitter? A real presence requires more than just establishing a Twitter account and posting the latest headlines with links. A real presence requires that editors and publishers actually engage in conversation with readers and participate in the discussion of the news items generating the most buzz among your most important clients -- the readers.
4. Print media are becoming less and less relevant, and there is no one solution that will save all the newspapers and magazines. This is a scary reality for many journalists employed by traditional print media outlets, but it's also a reality that they must acknowledge in order to preserve their careers. If you're working for a newspaper or magazine where layoffs, pay cuts and unpaid vacations are becoming the norm, then you might need to explore other options in the new media landscape. There are plenty of online news sources experiencing success. Do your research and find them. Until you land a new job, start a blog, tweet your ideas and create your new identity in journalism.
5. News consumers are now taking the place of news providers thanks to all the opportunities provided by Twitter, Facebook and whatever the next big social media network will be called. We all can have a voice in the distribution and discussion of news, and 140-characters-or-less messages are having just as big an impact as banner headlines above the fold once had. Ever notice those messages that get re-tweeted dozens, even hundreds, of times? We really don't need these news aggregator sites, because in a sense we're all news aggregators. That's what you become every time you e-mail, tweet or re-tweet a link to a news story.
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