Harvard University: Newspapers are being Purchased as Fire Starters

The national media has turned decidedly and transparently Pro Democrat.

Look at the treatment of Rudy Guiliani vs. Hunter Biden.

Look at the favorable treatment that they give to Joe Biden vs. the relentless attacks of Donald Trump.

It goes on and on.

Newspapers were once very relevant. they are now disappearing before our eyes.

I predicted this 30 years ago.

Some of it is their fault. They’ve been mostly and horribly biased in favor of Democrats. They literally turned off half of their potential customers.

However, from the advent of radio, television and digital eras, a print edition of a newspaper is “old news” before it even arrives to your home or office.

In the not-too-distant future, printed newspapers will not exist at all.

There are many millions of people who have not and will not ever touch a physical printed newspaper.

Everything that they do is digital.

Newspapers and magazines will continue to exist going forward, but, only in a digital format.

Many have already made the switch.

There is no stopping this. It’s a mathematical certainty.

Everything from the economics to being competitive and timely with readers (the consumer of news) will necessitate that they evolve.

There is no doubt, that there remains a portion of older Americans who love to hold a physical newspaper in their hands.

I do leave open that a very wealthy individual, who sentimentally wants to keep a physical print newspaper going ... can do so. But, it would be unprofitable and archaic.

Harvard University conducted a study about physical print newspapers. It was a published in a website maintained by Harvard university‘s name and foundation, Neiman journalism labs, which reports on digital media innovations.

The article had an almost surreal title: “Why do people still get print newspapers? Well, partly to start up the grill (seriously).”

Yes, it sounds like a bad joke, but, the Harvard University study concluded that people are continuing to buy newspapers to start their barbecue and fire places.

The study measured many things, but, this “newspapers being used as fire starters” was a serious finding.

The study was in the journal “New Media and Society.”

They conducted interviews with 488 news readers in Argentina, Finland, Israel, Japan and the United States.

They contend that it represents one of the largest interview-based studies of its kind in history.

Don’t let the takeaway only be the use of newspapers as fire starters.

Newspapers are used for that. But, the study is a fair and deep dive into what they called three dimensions of media:

Regardless of your ideology, perhaps one thing we can agree on ... the way that people are consuming news has been changing.

It will continue to change as we go forward.

SOURCES: Harvard University, Neiman journalism labs, New Media & Society Journal.