There have been several consequences of the “Great Recession,” including half-hearted attempts at regulating our wobbly financial system, a difficult job market and a new American frugality that the New York Times covers just about every day. As part of this new American frugality, philanthropic budgets, particularly the kind that sustain programs at private colleges like Conn, have been severely downsized if not eliminated altogether.
Additionally, the Recession injected the print vs. online newspaper debate with a healthy dose of urgency. As the volume of print advertising plummets – and papers’ revenues fall in tandem – people have started getting serious about finding solutions to keep our fourth branch of government alive and well. While this was happening, the digital revolution has kept on chugging, developing sophisticated news platforms for PCs and mobile devices.
It sucks that we’ve lost the newspapers due to a temporary gap in funding here at CC. It really does. We should, of course, express our displeasure and look for solutions to fund this project. In the meantime, however, let’s take this opportunity to realize that the world has moved forward and so should we.
Again, don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing I love more than manhandling a Sunday Times until it’s unrecognizable. But I also love driving a car that gets approximately 18 mpg. Both of these are not necessarily sustainable behaviors. While print news offers some benefits, we have to look forwards at the platforms that have been developed to give us an experience that is as close to print news as possible.
The College Voice’s website is living proof that articles can be displayed in a way that gives priority to whatever the editorial staff deems most worthy. E-readers like Amazon’s Kindle continue to improve upon the screen-reading experience so our eyes aren’t warped in the meantime.
While we should actively campaign to redirect school funding towards the luxuries we miss, we need to take it in stride and recognize that the news is still there, and not having a print edition is no excuse for not maintaining the intellectual rigor and stimulating conversation that should define academic and social life at Connecticut College.
