There’s still something about seeing something on a printed page that lends credibility and legitimacy.
Just hearing it mentioned, or seeing it on a screen, doesn’t have the same level of legitimacy with people. A novel or a non-fiction story feels more authentic when holding a book than when using an e-reader.
When someone sees something on a page, or when it appears in print, people are more likely to believe something.
Some of it might be how our minds work, or it might be because it’s how we’re conditioned to think. But it also could be in large part due to the credibility that newspapers have to this day.
This week is National Newspapers Week. For those of us in the newspaper industry, it’s an opportunity to look back on our past, reflect on the changes that have occurred, consider where the industry is now and where it is headed in the future.
For the community, it’s an opportunity to think about the impact that newspapers continue to have as the most trusted source of information.
Admittedly, this is a challenging time for our industry. The public hears about the doom and gloom associated with sliding newspaper revenues. Some papers have closed and others are in trouble.
Yet the numbers that come out through public opinion surveys show that newspapers remain the most trusted news source for people. They still turn to their daily or weekly newspaper for information, whether that be through the traditional, print version, or through the websites that these papers now maintain.
It’s because people still count on their newspaper for the information that it provides.
The efforts of the Globe & Mail reporter Robert Fife this year to break the SNC-Lavalin story that turned into a major scandal that generated headline news for two months is an example of why we still need newspapers. They provide depth, insight and overall quality of reporting that can’t be matched by broadcast or digital-only platforms.
It was the type of story that the public needed to know about, and has had a lasting impact.
If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberals are defeated in the upcoming federal election, then this scandal will be the biggest reason. Most scandals usually don’t become public until well after they happen, when they’re included in public accounts or audited reports or something else that brings them to light.
Not every article is going to be about a scandal, a controversy or a tragedy. It’s not always a case of “if it bleeds, it leads.” A look inside the pages of this week’s edition of the Mercury or Southeast Lifestyles will show that most of the articles are actually pretty positive. Most of what happens in this city and this region are positive; our articles should reflect that.
People enjoy reading articles that don’t involve politics, fires, police or the courts.
The newspaper is the means to hold people to account for their actions, but also to bring attention when those in elected office do something right.
As we near the federal election date of Oct. 21, it should serve as a reminder that newspapers matter, now more than ever. It should be a reminder that we are still the most trusted source.
In this day and age, where anyone can seemingly post anything online, and have some people believe them, you need someone you can turn that you can believe. Some people will believe anything that fits their agenda; if enough people share something, eventually others might buy into it, regardless of the source or the actual content.
The Internet is a great tool that has improved our lives in so many ways, and social media has created wonderful opportunities that wouldn’t have existed otherwise, but the proliferation of pseudo news sites and social media accounts has become a big problem.
Count on your local newspaper to get it right, and to give you information that you can count on, whether it be the federal election, the city council meeting, the local school activities, sporting events and virtually anything else happening in the city.
