Will we miss it?

With the end of newspapers in print looming over media as much as the All Blacks failure to win a World Cup in over twenty years looms over New Zealand, the question must be asked, will it actually be missed? The World Cup is obviously missed as many Kiwis threaten to riot in the streets if the mighty AB’s can bring home the Webb Ellis trophy, but does the world feel the same about print newspapers? It seems not.

Circulation is down, profit is down, and free internet access is up. People around the world the world don’t see the point in paying for something they can get for free, and would rather not inconvenience themselves with a, sometimes, hard to grasp bunch of paper that will need to be discarded after twenty minutes. This then raises the issue of those that don’t properly recycle their papers and just throw them into the rubbish, causing even more harm to the environment. A lot of environmentalists around the world will be glad to see the print newspapers go.

I must admit though, I am one who will dearly miss the newspaper. Don’t get me wrong, I love the free and easy access the internet provides just as much as the next person, but there was something about waking up before school every morning and reading the paper with my old man that was really special to me. That was a long time ago though and, as they say, times change. With more and more people becoming reliant on technology at even younger ages, the news is becoming increasingly easier to access via mobile phones and other similar platforms. Nonetheless, it will be a sad day when print newspapers are a thing of the past and I for one will definitely miss those annoying bunches of paper.