Being a newspaper editor is a no win situation. Once the task of the newspaper editor was much simpler. The job was to report the news - hopefully first - and have it right. The internet changed all that.

The internet syphoned away advertising budgets. As a result, newspapers had to trim their staff. That meant fewer people all through the system - from people distributing in trucks to people reporting the news. With fewer reporters, the editor has had to make a decision. Does he or she focus on the news that is important; or does he or she focus on the news that sells? Sometimes, the two are mutually exclusive.

There was a time when the daily newspaper was indeed a daily ritual for people. Now, fewer and fewer people need the daily newspapers. There is fresh content on television. The internet provides a national and international news sources to every connected computer. What is the banner headline in tomorrow’s paper is already old news. Most people have heard that news.

A good newspaper can bring a depth of analysis that other mediums cannot. Reporting is story-telling and being the first witness of history. The editor is the ‘gate-keeper’ and there is obligation in that service. However, so many people want the news differently in the ‘microwave age’. Those people want the news fast and they want it now. And that brings up the critical editorial dilemma. What does one do when the medium itself is becoming obsolete?

Catherine Forsythe