What can museums learn from the decline of American newspapers?

I find it interesting that you're making a direct comparison to museums.  Why choose this particular kind of cultural institution?  Because although very related, newspapers are sent out to people's doorsteps, laptops, and offices.  Museums, on the other hand, have to actually pull people inside their own doors.  Do you think these items can cross the line to other non-profits?

Interesting and thoughtful column.

I'd suggest, however, that the death of newspapers began when they were most prosperous. Remember fifteen-to-twenty years ago when two-paper towns began to dwindle? The evening paper was usually the one to go.

With a monopolist role in the community, newspapers promptly began to increase ad rates, rely on wire service stories for editorial filler while pulling back from local investigative reporting. By the time the internet began to replace newspapers as a viable and ready source of news, people were already fed-up with their local newspaper and eager for alternatives.

As a former journalist, I, too, have a special feeling for newspapers. However, mine is not one of affection. I think they've betrayed readers both in developing a lazy business model when times were good and in the last decade by processing news to fit a predetermined editorial agenda.

Except for a few really noteworthy journals, frankly, at this point, I don't see how they can regain their importance. (There may be niches for smaller more culturally and community oriented weeklies, perhaps, but I can't see how the generalist community paper can regain its stature or readership.)   

By the way, these were management decisions...not decisions by individual reporters.

 Well said, Leslie. Excellent points. My husband and I are both in the newspaper business (I'm a columnist and magazine writer and he's a sports editor) and are huge fans of hard-copy newspapers. I'm clinging to subscriptions to three dailies and we always collect a stack wherever we travel. However, I read many more papers online and am more apt to turn on my computer to read a story than pick up the pages. As you suggest, there's got to be a happy medium somewhere.

Cathy

cathylwood.wordpress.com

Cathy,

Thanks so much for your comments--and you're absolutely right: I should have said that newspapers' trimming of their pages was a symptom. What I meant to convey is that in the eyes of newspaper readers, this was one of the first signs that the product was on the decline.

And yes, newspapers alone are not enough. But I don't think pulling back to an online-only format is the way to go. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think that journalism shifts when it moves online. It may be the same content, but it's not necessarily being consumed at the same, slower pace of someone reading the newspaper. Don't get me wrong--I do most of my reading online--but when I read the news offline, I feel I'm more able to immerse myself in the subject. I'm much more likely to finish an article offline than on. That's my hangup, maybe.

Increasingly, people in the museum field are willing to admit that not all museums need to take a traditional form. A physical location is ideal, but a museum doesn't necessarily have to be centered around collections. After all, most science centers and children's museums wouldn't consider themselves to be collecting institutions. And while I certainly would argue that collections should be experienced in person whenever possible, there are some institutions--I'm thinking of the Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University--that give viewers a more impressive and comprehensive experience with objects online as they do off, mostly because the museums themselves are in too physically small a space. Still, increasingly people are arguing that museums are civic institutions as much as they are educational ones, and that museums should be more active in enabling civic discourse in its various forms. And if you're going to enable civic discourse in a local context, that means bringing people together in a space, but it need not be a traditional museum building. I have a looser definition of "museum" than a lot of people do, and I have a hard time drawing the line between "museum" and "not museum."

Journalism fulfills a civic need, but it's the newspaper as an organization--a group of people working together toward a common goal--that is, to me, a preferred venue (as is NPR, another fine organization) for journalism to take place. Independent journalists do fine work, but I do think there's something to be said for being co-located with other reporters and editors. There's a special energy there. I think museums can learn from newspapers' successes and failures, as both are in some sense civic, teaching and learning institutions.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

Leslie

 Leslie -- What a wonderful post! You obviously have much knowledge in this area and have offered some thoughtful ideas. May I respectfully differ from you on a couple points?

First, you say "For newspapers, the crumbling of their product began several years ago with newspapers trimming the width of their pages." I think, however, that newspapers' adoption of a narrow web was a reaction to rising paper prices, which of course has a whole host of other economic antecedents. I would argue that several other factors -- classified ads migrating online, for instance, as you point out -- heralded the crumbling of newspapers. Narrow webs are a symptom, not a cause.

Second, you are so right that businesses/non-profits should keep their products in front of their customers. Newspapers did that -- literally -- and provided sensory experiences as readers turned pages and smelled newsprint. But that, obviously, is not enough, as evidenced by newspapers folding left and right and downsizing to online only and other papers' Web-site readership increasing as hard-copy subscriptions and rack sales fall.

Third, "newspapers" and "journalism" are two different entities. "Journalism" is the message, while "newspapers" are the delivery systems. For journalism to remain relevant and vital, it must find new and/or updated methods to reach its audience. Is that model applicable to museums? Most people would say "museums" are what's inside rather than the brick-and-mortar buildings, but the buildings are essential to store, protect and exhibit the items we associate with the museums. While many museums offer cyberspace visits and other online experiences, those can't happen without a physical presence somewhere. Or can they?

I applaud you for opening this dialogue and jumpstarting this discussion. We are all here to learn from each other, and your post is a great place to start. Thank you!

Cathy

cathylwood.wordpress.com