By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President/National Blog Chairwoman

Some days I feel like the dinosaurs I remember instructing me in college. I refer fondly to my old J-school professors as the men who shaped me and guided me in my career as a daily newspaper reporter. I started out my career for a small five-day-a-week evening daily in northeast Texas. We used VDTs and I had to size photos, count headlines and literally cut and paste galleys. *Ed. note: younger folks, refer to your journalism history books to understand these terms.*

I remember when my newspaper in West Texas got a website and started trying to determine how they would post content and still make money. It seems like yesterday, but also a million years ago. And, it was just another nail in the coffin of print journalism.

Yes, this old-timer who refuses to only get her news content online is saying it. I must have the feel of newsprint in my hands to feel like I’m getting the whole story. The gal who listens to Paul Conley, nods her head, but still refuses to get Internet/email connectivity on her cell phone – that girl is the one who is truly, finally admitting it: print journalism may, indeed, be dying.

I was shocked to read that the Detroit Free Press plans to change the way it does things in the spring. Gone will be daily delivery of the paper. Ok, well, reduced is a better word. Instead of a daily paper waiting on your doorstep each morning, you’ll now have to log on and get your news. Except on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

*sigh*

Call me old-fashioned, but this is sad news to me. I love having the portability of a newspaper, the in-depth details you don’t get from the 30-second spot on the broadcast news. I just don’t see how you can get that from the palm of your hand on your Iphone. It just isn’t the same. That’s it. It just isn’t the same.

I know pretty much every news outlet is changing how they do things. So, what does it all mean for journalism and for B2B pubs? Well, you guys know what it means. You’re the ones doing it and experiencing it. Is it as hard for you as it is for me?