“In the end, does it really matter if newspapers physically disappear? Probably not: the world is always changing. But does it matter if organizations independent enough and rich enough to employ journalists to do their job disappear? Yes, that matters hugely; it affects the whole of life and society.” – Andrew Marr
Born this day in 1959, Marr is a British commentator, broadcaster and journalist who is former editor of The Independent and now political editor of BBC News.
He reflects a worry shared by many of us who have started as or continue to serve as journalists – that our newer generation of readers is forgetting about the valuable role that journalists have in our society, and that funding for newspapers as we long have known them is rapidly disappearing.
“The business of funding digging journalists is important to encourage,” he noted. “It cannot be replaced by bloggers who don’t have access to politicians, who don’t have easy access to official documents, who aren’t able to buttonhole people in power.”
Keeping that thought in the conversation is important for everyone who writes.
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