Death of the Daily Planet

by Clark Kent guest reporter

Newspapers across the country are closing their doors at an alarming rate. Today, the final edition of my own beloved Daily Planet has gone to press. For the past seventy years this Metropolis newspaper has informed and entertained us. Decreased circulation combined with an ever-expanding internet presence has forced the newspaper industry to adjust or die. And most newspapers are dying.
The Daily Planet strove to remain relevant in a world besieged by instant information outlets. Television, the web and even cell phone news services supply their audience with news as it happens. No matter how fast the Daily Planet could print a story, it always seemed a day behind.
Escalating paper and fuel prices as well as environmental concerns were also factors in the closing of this media landmark.
I noticed acceleration in the newspaper’s decline when my editor, Perry White, began outsourcing stories from a generic wire service. The newspaper saved money, but without any local stories its circulation began dropping rapidly. With sales dwindling at the newsstand, advertisers cancelled long-term contracts deeply cutting into revenue the newspaper needed to continue operating.
Several of our big name reporters left for other venues. Lois Lane jumped ship and is working for the Daily Bugle, where her column appears only online. The Daily Bugle is also in the midst of severe employee layoffs as well. Peter Parker, the famous local photographer, was in the Daily Planet's office last week trying to sell photos to the city desk but there was no money in the budget for freelancers. Our own senior reporter, Jimmy Olsen, took a buyout package last month. He now works at Home Depot in the paint department during the day. He works nights in the Stop & Shop deli to help make ends meet.
Most people do not realize how valuable newspapers are. A newspaper is much more than an overview of current events. A newspaper has a distinct voice. Newspapers offer points of view driven by the people who produce it. Newspapers are a tool for checking everything from the weather to movie reviews. If you want to buy a car or rent an apartment, all the information you need is in the palm of your hand in glorious black and white.
Sure you can find information on the web but you never know the source. The web offers many versions of the truth. Anything can be posted on the web by anybody. And everybody instantly believes it. No witnesses, no corroboration needed. The internet is the gospel our younger generation blindly follows.
Newspapers give people another side of the story. There is nowhere to turn for another opinion. Newspapers have been a key source of information for the general public since the revolutionary war. They are equally important to preserving our freedom today – Freedom from government control, freedom of expression, freedom of the press. If society lets these little freedoms slip away, soon there is no freedom left.
Please support your local newspaper any way you can. Write letters to the editor. Send in stories about events in your town. Advertise your local business. Discuss newspaper stories with your children.
The future is in your hands with this newspaper you are holding. Don’t let such a valuable resource become extinct. Don’t let newspapers become another casualty of the information superhighway. Unlike the web, newspapers make a commitment to verify the truth in what they print. For that reason alone, it is in our best interest to keep newspapers around as long as possible.
Take it from me, Clark Kent: observer, reporter, concerned citizen, freedom fighter. I am a big supporter of truth, justice and the American way. I want to preserve these beliefs for all people well into the future.