The race back to ‘actual’ news

The newspapers that are doing well are getting there with reinvigorated newsrooms and meaningful messages. Content marketers can learn from that.

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More than 15 years ago, I began telling people that the Internet might kill newspapers but that it wouldn’t end journalism.

A robust, free press remains part of the fabric of our nation, even as we continue to struggle with how to pay for it. Remember, journalism was created to educate, inform, and persuade people, and our nation’s first journalists were not writing to please advertisers.

Thomas Paine did not write Common Sense as a vehicle to promote furniture discounts, closeout sales, or classifieds. Advertising was a byproduct of journalism, which has, at times, overshadowed it—but I promise you, journalism will endure.

New York Times reporter David Carr, who covers the media business (and does it very well, by the way), wrote an interesting piece this month that got me thinking. He noted that the Washington Post under the new ownership of Jeff Bezos has flourished because it bolstered its newsroom after years of staff cuts. The Post is turning out more scoops and generating traction.

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