It's not easy to admit you're wrong. I don't typically keep up with "new technology." In fact I've often been accused of living in the past. So when I found out about Twitter -- a year after it went mainstream -- I made a snap judgment regarding its purpose and intended use (and therefore its relative value or detriment to society).I was wrong. As I said unequivocally at the time "Twitter will be remembered as the peak of the social networking bubble." My reasoning which I still cling to in part was that Americans communicate far in excess of what is useful. ...

Another massive drop in circulation has forced newspapers down a path they can't stay on forever.

I’ll be honest as a full-time reporter I can’t help but feel happy to see investors pile into a newspaper company.Yesterday morning Gannett (GCI) reported that its third-quarter profit nose-dived 53% as it struggled with an ongoing advertising downturn but the company still managed to surpass the Street’s expectations by working overtime to cut costs. Investors loved the beat sending shares soaring 7.5% in afternoon trading.Other players in the newspaper industry were also glowing green. McClatchy (MNI) was up 7.7%; Media General (MEG) climbed 4.04%; The New York Times Company (NYT) rose 1.9%; A.H. Belo (AHC) jumped 2.5%; and Lee ...

Last week the Knight Commission released the major findings of a two-year study into the specific information needs of communities in an increasingly tech-driven and media-saturated world. The 148-page report ambitiously titled "Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age " attempted to identify the type of information communities need not just to function but to thrive.As the commission was quick to point out this wasn't just a narrow look at the well-publicized plight of traditional media outlets such as newspaper companies New York Times (NYT) Gannett (GCI) and McClatchy (MNI) or local radio conglomerates like Citadel Broadcasting (CTDB). ...

Saving the dinosaur press is apparently a bipartisan effort -- and blather from both sides of the aisle doesn’t give a bad idea a patina of credibility. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels a Republican is part of a new marketing campaign sponsored by the Hoosier State Press Association for newspapers in his state. In the ads Gov. Daniels says apparently without irony that newspapers are the “only medium equipped to play watchdog across all levels of government.” Future ads by the Hoosier State Press Association are scheduled to include senators Richard Lugar a Republican and Evan Bayh a Democrat. Politicians ...