NYT's David Carr with another gloomy take on newspapers

My point wasn't so much about the iPad app, but how our news appetites have changed and the availability from other sources.
We've seen how newsmagazines have adapted (or not) - the point is people don't want to use a news product that feels old and dated - and yet with a morning paper and an 11 p.m. or midnight deadline, people are getting "news" that is at least eight hours old. Seems like it would make sense to publish and distribute with a quicker turnaround.

 

Ah, gotcha.

I've wondered about the possibilities of switching to p.m. I grew up in Decatur, Ala., and the Daily was a p.m. from as long as I could remember.

Anyway, the way companies keep cutting away at newsrooms the delivery cycle just may not matter eventually.

 

Publishing morning or afternoon doesn't matter because the production/delivery time lapse is the same. And most people who might read a p.m. might not get around to reading it until ... when? After dinner?

Newspapers' only chance at survival was to produce a product different than what one can get on the web or TV - depth, perspective, analysis, investigation. 10, 15 years ago I was hearing the drum beat about "No one has the time to read the paper." The newspaper answer to that perceived problem - shorter stories. Which meant that readers WOULD SPEND EVEN LESS TIME with the paper.

You can't fix stupid.