Five Ways To Read The Paper And Keep Your Sanity Intact

Today's newspapers are filled with negative articles. Huffington Post lays out five ways to read the paper and crack a smile while reading some depressing articles.

First method is to read the headline and add naked at the end of it. This allows readers just to smile.

Second method the foreign press, which is reading the newspaper backwards. In doing this readers stay away from the more depressing articles up front in the newspapers.

The escapist method is basically taking the newspaper and turning it into modern art.

The Jon Stewart Method is pretending to write for the Daily Show. This method is to joke around with the news to lighten the mood of the article.

The last method is the hamster, which is using the newspapers as a way to catch the droppings in its cage.

These methods show that the newspaper is dieing and becoming boring. The newspaper is boring and these methods are trying to lighten the mood of the depressing news.

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News on the Go

Despite advertising and circulation woes, newspapers found out some good news last week when Pew Research Center revealed a survey that indicated good news from those who read their news via their tablets.

Although most readers are still unwilling to pay for news, those who use news applications are much more likely to pay for content than those who get their news from a browser. 27 percent of "mainly app users" have paid for news, while only 5 percet of "browser users" have.

Those who use apps are "power users," showing that they are more likely to read more news more often and also pay for the news.

The survey, which included 1,159 tablet users, also found that tablet users are getting news from sources that they did not previously read. 40 percent of responders said that they are reading different newspapers than before they had a tablet. USA Today and CNN were the top new sources.

As newspapers continue to rely more on tablet readership, they need to target these readers, especially the "power users." By enhancing the effectiveness and quality of the news apps and by allowing some free content, more readers will likely make the jump to app reading.

Photo courtesy of www.creativecommons.com

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Newspapers Gaining Consumers Through Tablets

A new PEW study suggests that newspapers are drawing tablet users to their products.

"Tablet users are more likely to pay for content than general news consumers," said Julie Moos in her article about CNN and USA Today gaining new readers.

The phone survey of 1,159 tablet users showed that a new audience of tablet users are being drawn to newspapers.

"Of the 894 respondents who read news on their tablets weekly, 40 percent said they are getting news from newspapers that they did not rely on as a source before," continued Moos.

New technology like the tablet is thought to be killing off newspaper companies, but as seen here it is actually helping them by providing them more consumers.

10 percent of the tablet users in the survey said they get news from USA Today on their tablets and they did not use that source for news before. 10 percent said the same thing about CNN.

The survey also showed that the tablet users were also using other types of media like cable TV channels and online sources now with their tablets when they weren't using those sources before.

19 percent of the users now watch a new cable TV news station, and 18 percent use a new online news source.

The tablet has opened a window for consumers to get their news in a new way.

Photo via Creative Commons

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The Anyday Paper

According to Sara Dickenson Quinn from Poynter.org, Sunday papers just aren't quite what they used to be.

"'Papers seem to be taking fewer chances,' says Suzette Moyer, creative director of the St. Petersburg Times' Bay Magazine."

Instead of being the biggest and best, many Sunday editions are looking more and more like any other day, with little distinguishing them from a Monday or Wednesday edition.

Quinn outlines four possible reasons as to why newspapers are producing less impressive Sunday papers.

1. Job cuts in the newsroom. Jeff Goertzen, graphics director of the Denver Post, says that news design and graphics staffs are about half the size that they were ten years ago.

2. Designers and graphic artists have many more responsibilities. With more roles to fill, designers cannot commit as much time to front page spreads.

3. The average news hole is smaller than in previous years. Big, expansive investigative stories may not be occurring as often due to it being easier to break news.

4. Design centers are simplified in order to save time. Design isn't really an assembly-line situation, which is what most newspapers are headed towards. Design takes more time and thought, which is not afforded due to business decisions.

The front page is often what grabs a reader's attention. With newspapers spending less time and resources on the front page design, especially on frequently-read Sunday editions, the downward spiral of newspapers is likely to continue.

Photo courtesy of www.creativecommons.com

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Paywalls: Newspaper's New Best Friend

Earlier this year, the New York Times set up a paywall to limit the number of free views people could have for their online articles. Many people believed this would be a complete failure thinking people would simply refuse to pay for online articles, but the New York Times has proved those non-believers wrong.

At the end of it's third quarter, released October 20, 20ll, the Times revealed a quarter of a million readers payed at least $15 to access the online content of this paper. This shows it is possible to make a profit by implementing the paywall strategy.

This is a huge success for now just the Times, but the journalism industry as a whole. Because the Times showed they could profit off their online content, it is expected that many other media outlets will follow their lead.

The success of the paywall helps ease the mind of those who believed newspapers to be a dying entity. Newspapers are not dying, they are simply evolving with the new technologies introduced to the world.

Although the paywall has the potential to benefit the journalism industry, what does this mean for readers? If other newspapers begin to charge for their online material, will readers still be able to access those breaking stories immediately? Or will this slow down the rate at which news travels?

The way in which the paywall strategy has been implemented by the Times will help keep casual readers interacting with the online content. The Times allows each person 20 views per month before they demand their payment. This allows those who are not news enthusiasts to view the few articles that catch their attention without first having to hand over their credit cards.

With it's success at the Times, it can be predicted that many other major news companies will set up paywalls similar to this one to help raise their profits. This will enable the journalism profession to keep up to speed with the fast paced world we now all live in.

photo by DRB62 from creativecommons.com

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Facebook's New Layout Important to Newspapers

A month ago I would have scoffed at the idea. There was no way that Facebook would have any importance to a newspaper, apart from their need to have a Facebook page for fans to follow. With the new changes to Facebook, newspapers should start paying attention.

Facebook has over 800 million users and has posted a day with over 500 million members logging in. It is safe to say that a lot of people's opinions are able to be expressed via Facebook. This is why the reaction to the new layout should be alarming to newspapers everywhere.

According to this article, Facebook claims it is trying to become "your own personal newspaper". Their news feed section is something taken directly from many newspaper websites. There is also a real-time ticker off to the side that keeps you up-to-date on who is doing what all the time.

And the overall consensus seems to be dislike.

If the Facebook members have such a strong reaction against the new format, what does that mean for the newspapers? It means that there is a possibility that a large number of potential readers would not like navigating their website. It means that they might be losing readers because of their layout.

Or maybe there is no correlation at all. What are your thoughts? Does the initial reaction over Facebook mean that newspapers should look into revamping their format? If so, how could they do it better?

Photo via Creative Commons.

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Twitter Changes the Game for Reporters

With the arrival of the 21st Century, journalism has had to evolve to keep up with reader's demands. In this new, technological age, social media websites have completely changes the journalistic world. Social media sites, especially Twitter, provide readers with constant, immediate news. This has created a more competitive working environment for reporters to break the stories first.

Additionally, journalists cannot simply be reporters in this changing business. They must also become editors, multi-media experts, and marketers to develop a brand for themselves in a way that makes them stand out from their competitors. They have to know how to do it all.

Twitter gives journalists tools they never dreamed would have been possible in the past millennium. This website allows journalists to watch for trends, establish sources, share and develop their stories, and brand themselves to millions of followers almost instantaneously. Plus they can do this all in the palm of their hand.

This one website has also changed the way readers get their news. The days of the newspaper are a thing of the past; replaced by LED screened cellphones and tablets. Readers want to know what is happening "now" not what happened yesterday, or even ten minutes ago. If journalists want to be successful in today's field, then it is essential they get with the times and use the resources in front of them wisely.

photo from www.creativecommons.org by okalkavan

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A Conflict of Interest

Don't bring your work home. Don't mix business with pleasure. Don't poop where you eat. Personal life and professional life should be separate.

The concept is simple enough. In order to be objective at work, we need to remain unbiased. For example, a doctor can't treat his/her spouse because of conflict of interest.

According to Thomas Sheeran on Huffington Post, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz resigned from her position at The Plain Dealer due to her husband's senatorial race. She explained that her decision resulted from the fact that her newspaper regularly reports on her husband's election.

Journalists and politicians are like macaroni and cheese; one without the other is devastating. The idea that either one would have to choose between a spouse and a career is equally devastating.

Schultz worked for The Plain Dealer for 18 years. Although she will no longer work for that newspaper, she will continue to writing for magazines and her book. I don't know how she chose one love over another, but it was her decision to make.

As a political science and multi-media journalism major, I often wonder whether I want to make headlines or write them. In high school I had the best of both worlds; I was president of student council and editor of the newspaper. I have avoided conflict between my two interests so far, but in the real world, I know I will have to decide.

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The Future of Journalism

On Tuesday, the Bay Area News Group (BANG) announced a

rebranding of many of its newspapers to better reflect the scope of its regional coverage.

The reality of that statement: eleven newspapers that are currently operating independently will merge into two newspapers. This is also anticipated to impact 120 jobs- at least 40 of these journalists.

It seems everywhere I've looked this week, I have come across mention of newspapers either closing or cutting jobs. With such drastic cuts, where does that leave the journalists of the future? The answer is online.

In spite of these cuts, BANG is placing an emphasis on multimedia content delivery. They have put out a stream of recent apps for iPads and iPhones. Their websites are offering new and expanded coverage. BANG is far from being the only place where online growth is being seen. The full article about the changes to BANG can be read here.

This week also happened to mark the launching of a new newspaper: The Daily Dot. It proclaims to be the Hometown Newspaper of the World Wide Web. It aims to cover the news among the social media outlets of the internet. This includes, but is not limited to, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, Digg, and YouTube.

The first reaction might be to scratch your head over this, but after some deep contemplation I believe this is trending in the right direction. The Daily Dot might not be too far off when it claims that

The global online community is the largest body politic in the world and it is growing rapidly, stretching across geography, boundaries, and borders.

Social networking has grown to such massive proportions that its population could rival countries.

If the population has the interest, why not write about it?

It will create more journalism jobs. It will create a stronger demand for journalism in the online communities. This could be the phoenix rising from the ashes of the paper newspapers.

And maybe this might even convince some people to pick up one of those paper newspapers. I can't wait to see the ripple effect that The Daily Dot creates. I, for one, am excited about the future of journalism.

Photo Credit: Newspaper Death Watch via Creative Commons.

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Media Evolution

This week I saw a video discussing the future of journalism. One comment made in this video by a professor at Columbia University was that no new media has ever truly replaced its predacessor.

I absolutely agree.

A common discussion topic these days is if print news will cease to exist due to the advances of Internet news. Some say yes and some are skeptical.

First there was the newspaper, followed by the radio, followed by television and finally the Internet came to be. Everytime a new media was introduced the fear was the older media would vanish.

We know this isn't necessarily the case. Television didn't make radio obsolete, not widely as used but definately not obsolete.

Instead I think media evolves from others instead of knocking them out. Check a car there is a radio in there and it gets used.

As for newspapers daily editions may not occur forever but I'd say no matter what the Sunday newspaper will always be there for enjoyment.

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Reading Between the Lines

Newspapers are a major part of medium which people assume is becoming less important as digital is slowly but sturdily becoming king. The print side of media is losing in many, many ways across the board. The one way which I would like to focus on is in terms of readership, especially in the young demographic of 18 to 24 years old.

The State of the News Media report for 2011 released its findings this past week, and for most, the numbers do not surprise many. While the lines are going downward on the graph as they move to the right, the concerns for print are increasing.

One-fourth of young adults read the newspaper on a daily basis, according to this study. In 2009, the percentage was slightly up at 27 percent, and in 2008, the amount of readership was at 31 percent. The two-year drop off in readership was the second smallest among demographic groups. (The smallest decline was in the 65+ age range with a two percent drop, respectively.)

Many young people read the newspaper online. According to findings by the Newspaper Association of America (which is separate from State of the News Media), of the 69 million people in the 18-34 range who claim to read the paper, 17.7 million of those say they read the current day’s paper online or hard copy. Almost 45 percent say young adults read the paper on a five-day consecutive basis.

Take these stats how you want it, but I’m still not concerned. These numbers are better than zero percent. Even though it may be a small portion, young adults do care about their newspapers. As a future newspaper writer, I would like to see these numbers a little bit higher. However, we as college media students who have a strong passion for newspapers as I do need to find a solution, and we need to find one fast.

Photo Credit: Fotopedia via Creative Commons

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What Happened to The Paperboy?

Not as many physical newspapers are being produced as they once were causing paperboy and girls to be a thing in the past.

The boy or girl riding their bike throwing news papers in peoples yards or bushes was 13% of how newspapers delivered their papers in 2008. It has declined 70% from 1990.

Newspaper companies are now more cost-conscious than they once were and are finding ways to save as much as possible. They have switched to distribution centers in order to deliver more papers in a wider area. The paperboys and girls have been replaced by adults who can drive.

Paperboys and girls use to collect subscribers money today few carriers do so. Today's carriers drive up and put the newspapers in mailboxes and drive away.

Culture is another factor of the near extinct paperboys and girls. Kids simply do not walk to places like they use to. The percentage of walkers was 50% in the 1960's and is now down to 16%.

Kids not walking to as many places could be a result of having the fear of being kidnapped. Another factor is more families are moving from suburbs to exurbs and live too far away from places to be able to walk to them.

The paperboys and girls are not completely gone, there is just not as many in today's society. We can thank The U.S. daily and the Times News for keeping the nearly extinct population of paperboys and girls in existence today.

The U.S. daily and the Times News have around 14,000 subscribers and they employ all youth carriers to deliver their papers. They pay the kids 12 to 15 cents per delivery depending on how close together the homes are on their routes.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons, Kelly B.

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Climbing the Mountain Again

In the media world, the idea of ever-changing is as common as driving to work or school on a daily basis. Most journalists, I assume, would not have imagined having to use Twitter as an outlet for their daily jobs. Having to make transitions in any business can be a tough thing to do, especially when it comes to a job loss.

As a media student, I cringe when I see newspapers not being able to withstand the digital flow. Newspapers are one of the major types of medium that has been around since the 1800’s and now to see it start to fade is troubling for one who enjoys writing this much.

“Goodbye, Colorado.”

This was the headline that stood out on a February 2009 morning in Denver which froze many newspaper people to the core. The first major newspaper in America had died. Many believed that others, such as the San Francisco Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, would follow suit and crumble. They did not.

The reason for the fall is money. As Time magazine pointed out in a March 2009 article, Scripps Co. were the ones who were responsible for the avalanche of one Denver newspaper. Even though the paper was seeing an increase in circulation and advertising, those in charge in Cincinnati assumed that "it was the business model's fault."

So what are the journalists who got ran out of the Rocky Mountain News doing now?

Blogger John Temple of Temple Talk called around and asked how others were getting along since the Rocky's fall. Guess what he used to do? Own the paper himself under Scripps's supervision.

In a nutshell, those who are calling somewhere else other than Denver home are doing fine. In fact, most of them are doing well. Some of the emotions ex-Rockies are facing nowadays are appreciation of a job, newfound freedom, determination, and of course, anger and loss looking back.

Media will always be here for us. Granted, some companies may have to wither away now and then, but as long as news succumbs society, there will be a job somewhere, someway waiting for us students to grasp once we receive our diplomas.

Photo Credit: Ed Kohler via Flickr via Creative Commons

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Is It A Newspaper Or A Magazine

On February 2, 2011 The Daily for the Apple iPad was launched.

The Daily has promoted itself as a newspaper exclusively for the iPad. Each day new articles are published and put out just like a print newspaper.

An iPad user downloads the app and pays 99 cents per week or a year subscription for $39.99. Then the user is set to read to his or her heart's content.

It has been speculated however that The Daily is not a newspaper but a magazine. These claims have been based on visuals more present than text.

In my opinion The Daily is neither one. Both newspapers and magazines have a large amount of context bewteen the pages.

An issue of The Daily only has a handful of stories. And once those stories are gone they are gone unlike newspapers and magazines which can have stories from months or years gone by.

To me The Daily is ridiculous, why pay for news when it can be read online for free with an unlimited amount of stories?

I feel this application is really just a bulletin highlighting a few stories.

What's your take?

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

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Being A Freelance Journalist

Have you ever known somebody with a passion for writing but had another dream for his or her career? Talk to them about freelance writing.

A freelance journalist is a writer that can be self-employed and not committed to a specific employer for a long term.

With a passion and desire to be an Admissions Counselor someday, this has been something I have been taking deep consideration in for my future. Not only can you engage in a career you love, you can also continue to write about topics of your choice.

In the world today, there are billions of different people that will respond to situations in similar and different ways. As writers, many feel a good reason to write a story is because they have something relevant to say about a certain topic.

When writing a story, a journalist can always find at least one person that will feel what they wrote was newsworthy. A freelance journalist could write about something that engaged their interest and allowed them to specialize in their passions.

Another positive thing about being a freelance journalist is your hours are flexible, because you'd only be writing part-time. After a day at your job, it'd still be easy to go home and work behind your computer.

A person that is a freelance writer has the advantage of having profit to fall back on if something in their job went bad. While writing on the side, you can still make profit. There are many magazine and newspaper editors that wish to share other people's knowledge to their readers.

Many people associate freelance writing with freestyle writing. With many of us being college students interested in journalism, we should even consider starting a freelance writing career now to build our writing portfolios for future jobs and internships.

Photo Credit: Cambridge Who's Who Authors @ Creative Commons

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Journalism Is Not Dead

This past Thursday and Friday, Simpson College students traveled to the INA Convention & Trade Show to engage their minds in becoming better journalists.

On Friday morning, Michael Bugeja, journalist, author, and educator, talked to writers about his views on social networking vs. newspapers. He believes that in this generation journalism is gone. As well as Bugeja, many people feel that social networking has swept over the popularity of receiving news.

As a college student wishing to pursue a career in journalism, the possibility of wasting your time writing a piece of work readers may never read is a scary thought.

Although online data has become very useful and easily accessible, young journalists should not give up on their dreams of writing for a newspaper, magazine, etc. Writing in a newspaper can provide a lot of the same advantages online sources can today.

Still worried? There is a great solution that many writers are turning to today: combining the newspaper and social media together. Many writers at the INA Convention Show were taught the advantages of both traditional media and social media.

The common phrase, "Two is better than one," has been an accurate statement for many journalists and reporters all over the world. Writers from past generations just may have to set up a Twitter or Facebook account to see if it can help provide better publicity of their work. With the increase of social media, it is a great time for writers to research the pros of mutually combining the two and seeing the steps they can take to reporting the news today.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

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Internet vs Journalism. Ding!

In this day and age, the Internet is a big buzz and everyone is using it for everything. Literally. When it first came about, the original users most likely didn't have a clue what it would become. And what exactly has it become? For America, it has become a huge part of everyday life that we depend heavily on.

This generation has grown up on the Internet and it seems that we do not know a world without it. I can honestly say, that I log on to Facebook approximately ten times a day. Embarrassing, I know. But it's the truth! We also get the chance to whip out our phones and text our friends, "Hey, what's up?" when we are bored or we want to hang out. Our parents had to physically go to a telephone and dial the person's number, to reach them. As a college student, I notice that I use the Internet all the time for research. There is a thing called the library, that students back then had to use in order to do their endless researching. My point is that people had to do much more effort and take much more care to get things done.

This brings up a question. What has the Internet done for journalism? For a few years now, newspapers around the U.S. have declined in circulation. It is so much easier to get on the Internet and click a few clicks to get a colorful article, than picking up a newspaper. I don't think there is nothing terribly wrong about this, but journalists now have to appeal to their audience and give them what they want.

In print form, there was an audience that would take time and find time to read the newspaper. The current audience, is more busy with their own lives and have a short attention span. Due to this fact, journalists have to condense their articles in order to keep their audience's attention. I also don't think there is anything terribly wrong with this concept, but there is something lost in journalism when the writers don't take the same amount of effort to get the nitty gritty and making sure the editing is just right.

Blogs are making it pretty big right now. Heck, I'm writing one! But with these new 'in' things, the Internet has made it increasingly possible to express one's opinion. Because of this, anyone who feels they have something to say, will write and blog what they feel. This could perhaps, bring down the quality of some blogs. It used to be that journalism was the facts. But now, we are all smothered with opinions and "I's" and "you's". It is, after all, hard to write in this world without being first person.

So now the question is this. Should newspapers go out of style and be posted on the Internet? Should blogs be looked at more carefully? Can we as America, be proud to say that we have evolved and erupted this Internet sensation that is going to be passed down to our kids and generations to come? These are very broad questions, but we do need to think about them and what the Internet could possibly come to, in the future.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

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News Corp. Brings A 'Daily' To The iPad

Looking beyond today's journalism and preparing for the future, Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. CEO, will launch a new digital newspaper exclusively for the iPad and other tablets next year.

As reported by the New York Times, Rupert Murdoch is teaming up with Apple to bring "The Daily", a one-of-a-kind digital newspaper designed exclusively for the iPad and similar tablet devices, to the App store in early 2011 for $0.99 per week or about $4.25 per month.

Focusing on national coverage and culture, the Daily is expected to provide original content and deliver an outstanding multimedia experience as the iPad is known for.

"With an investment of $30 million and a staff of around 100 journalists, the Daily will be a 'newspaper' with rich video and photography built especially for the iPad," said David Carr, media columnist for the New York Times.

Although the content will include political topics of importance, editors want the Daily to be a fun read including pop-culture, sports, and editorials. the Daily's staff is composed of distinguished contributors of the mainstream media like Richard Johnson, "the New York Post's king of gossip", and Sasha Frere-Jones, pop-music critic of The New Yorker, among others.

the Daily will not have a website or a print edition, thus, it will be only available for download through the iPad and other still unannounced tablets.

The creation of the Daily is based from Murdoch's belief that "within a few years, tablet devices will be like cell phones or laptops - every member of the family will have one."

Murdoch is taking a chance with the iPad as a way to increase revenue towards the publication of news in difficult times for newspapers during a growing momentum of online news. As Carr puts it, "the Daily will be a newspaper, an ancient motif on a modern device."

As the Daily comes to a beta-mode test sometime in December, I can already foresee important changes for journalism in the year 2011. Perhaps, if the Daily turns out to be profitable, we might see the rise of a new trend and a benchmark for news publications to come in the future.

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Newspapers are Saved

According to a recent article on Mashable, the iPad is going to save newspapers. The iPad offers many features that make reading news on the go easy thanks to a large screen, interactive features, and quick downloads. In order to utilize all of this, however, you actually need to own an iPad.

Current figures show that Apple has sold approximately 3.27 million iPads, and the number is expected to increase. And while many people have indicated that they wish to purchase an iPad at some point, not everyone is willing (or have the finances) to fork over $500.

iPads do seem like a good way to enhance more readership in newspapers, simply because this is a device that can easily be carried. While people might be able to look at newspapers on their phones, it is hard to read the tiny text, and scroll back and forth, up and down to get the full story. Some people have laptops, but those can be bulky, and not convenient to carry with at all times. So why would people choose to carry an electronic device instead of just hit up a newspaper stand?

First off, there is the large variety of newspapers that are already online, several of which are free. When you go to a newspaper stand, there are many selections as well, but it isn't practical to buy five different papers when you could simply have five different windows open on an iPad. With the iPad, you can download the newspaper apps, and open them that way.

Secondly, while there are some free newspaper apps, not all of them are free. For the ones that do cost, the price is generally around three bucks, and that is a one-time deal. How nice would it be not to dig the change out from under the couch each morning to buy your daily newspaper? Already the Wall Street Journal has had more than 650,000 downloads, many of those with paid subscribers.

Even though there seem to be many benefits of using the iPad for newspapers, there are also downsides. There is of course the possibility that you set it down somewhere and someone else walks off with it. Just like a computer or phone, you could accidentally dump water on it, leave it in the hot sun, etc. and fry it. And what about when the iPad updates (like so many devices do), are people going to pay each time to get a new one?

I think that utilizing the iPad to read newspapers is a good idea, though it may not be as practical in a few years. Newspapers are not going to make money at it unless they charge consumers to download their apps. I am anxious to see how this pans out in the coming years.

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iPad App to Capitalize on Newspaper Subscription Deficit

Can you think of the last time you actually opened up a newspaper to gather your daily information?

I remember in Junior High School having to read the newspaper for a class, and found it pretty boring. Not enough color. Less than adequate visual and pictorial stimulation. Dry news to a 13-year-old.

It's no secret that young adults, and even some middle aged adults, also find the newspaper to be deficient and obsolete as a method for gathering news about the world.

So what are people doing about it?

The larger newspapers around the country are realizing that subsidizing their output into online-only distribution methods may in fact be the best way of sustaining themselves. Why? Because the vast majority of the general public finds news online and sees no need to buy a physical newspaper. Why? Because who wants to wait for days when you can access to top stories of the day in seconds?

But condensing to online-only outlets isn't the only option. At least not to Apple.

With the introduction of the iPad in the last year, Apple has found another way to bring the world wide web to your finger tips. Functioning just like a bigger version of its sister products, the iPod touch and iPhone, the iPad allows for mobile creativity and networking like never before.

So how does the iPad have anything to do with the news?

For corporate or tech-savy people who like to be informed (or those who genuinely enjoy the news), Apple and the iPad are strategizing ways to overcome the newspaper subscription deficit by bringing news apps right to you. There are already apps out there for msnbc.com, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other new related sources for the iPhone and iPod touch. But what the iPad is rumored of intending to do, is let the newspapers themselves in on the deal.

Right now this is pure speculation, but the potential of putting this idea into the works could have a lot of positives.

Apple has already allowed for users to share their personal data/demographic information in functioning with certain apps, which can be very useful for publications looking to lure advertisers and customers. If newspapers and advertisers have a more select target market (i.e. iPad users) they may in fact be able to save face...and possibly gain some new customers in the process.

Problems with this idea would be that Apple could potentially take a hit from potential sales. According to Roger Fidler, digital publishing chief at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, Apple could lose out on 30% of the subscriptions sold through the App Store, and another 40% on advertising from publishers' apps.

"Newspapers are wary of Apple becoming a middle-man," Fidler said. Publications preferred to offer the app as part of a subscription to their papers’ print versions. “Instead, they must use Apple as an intermediary with subscribers."

There are obviously a lot more kinks to work out with this proposed idea:

-Who is going to benefit more from this 'partnership'?

-Will this only fuel the monopoly that is Apple?

-Can Apple find a way to satisfy its audience while doing a the civic duty of saving the newspaper subscription plunge?

If there is something that can be taken away here, it's that people and places are recognizing the decline in print media and want to take steps to aid and adapt to the technological changes that accompany it.

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