Introduction
It is evident that newspapers and magazines, as well as news television and radio programs, are usually referred to as mass media. However, newspapers and other print editions are recently beginning to be considered media dinosaurs. There are two groups of people: some think that newspapers have to exist, and others believe that this sphere has to be replaced by the Internet. The purpose of this paper is to provide arguments supporting both of these opinions.
Arguments for Newspapers to Exist
Several arguments support the idea of the necessity of saving newspapers. For example, nowadays, there are more newspaper readers than ever before – the SMH website, in particular, has reached almost four million followers. People are used to newspapers and want to continue reading them, whether printed or online – it is evolution but not extinction. Another argument is that if democracy continues to function, it must have a free and fearless press. Unfortunately, without journalists’ supervision, corruption starts flourishing everywhere. It is the role and duty of newspapers to control and tell the truth about governments and businesses. Finally, nowadays, there is a News Corp online opinion site that canvasses issues such as pay gaps, same-sex marriage, and domestic violence. These are rather essential topics that need to be discussed, but new media has no monopoly on these conversations.
Arguments for Newspapers to be Replaced
Some arguments prove the necessity of the Internet replacing newspapers. To begin with, new media like blogs or Twitter continues to research and promote stories that old media do not cover at all. They are rather important but probably may not be discussed by newspapers due to censorship. Moreover, investigative journalism can thrive in an online diverse media world just as it succeeds in printed publications. Finally, effective monitoring of media is the first step to controlling society’s values and future direction, and newspapers are difficult to control. Hence, they need to be replaced by the Internet.
Conclusion
It is hard to disagree that there are certain spheres of life that, on the one hand, are usually for people, but on the other hand, need to disappear to let new ideas flourish. Probably, the same is happening to newspapers, and they have already become or are becoming media dinosaurs. People have to decide whether newspapers will continue to exist or be replaced by online sources.