Part 2: There’s never enough time for news
As I read my go-to newspaper in a popular coffee shop, I noticed something missing — or should I say something was not right. The newspaper’s sections were still intact — coffee shops would often staple pages to prevent people from separating them. The other newspapers were tucked neatly inside the rack, all unread and untouched.
Four years ago, the scene was different. Sections were missing or scattered along with other newspapers. Sometimes, I would pick up a paper with a torn portion where a news article was. People still read newspapers, and you would hear chatter. Yes, people were conversing while they sip their morning coffee.
Today, people would sit in coffee shops, laptops or mobile phones on hand. And most were “busy” staring at screens. You would barely hear people talk. Instead, you would begin to notice the ambient music playing. The loudest voices would often come from the baristas who are calling out names of people and their choice of coffee.
Call me old school. I still read newspapers. I watch late evening news. And on weekends, I turn to some silly noon time show for entertainment. I still love going to the movies with the family, and I have books to fill up my me-time on weekends and at night. I also force myself to write (including this blog). Why? That’s the journalists in me. As they say, once a journalist, always a journalist. I will never stop telling a story; or at least sharing a story created by others.
So, picture that guy in the picture at the beginning of this essay. Morning coffee on the table. Me, deeply engaged with the day’s stories — mostly delving on politics, national and international news, and of course, a bit of light and entertaining gossip about celebrities. This was my routine for sometime until of late when my newspaper was replaced by a smartphone or a laptop — especially when I’m out on weekends.
Once, on a workday, a colleague called my attention when she saw me in a corner in a popular coffee shop just below our office building. I was in early, so I spent that extra time to catch up on that day’s news — and that was in the form of a newspaper.
“Hey,” my colleague said, as she approached me with her takeout coffee.
I looked up briefly and saw her smirking.
“You look old,” she intimated.
I smiled back, and replied, “ Yup.”
I am older than she is. She was in her late 20s and I am twice her age. So I could be her dad or uncle (that is if I chose to marry early in my life. But that’s another story).
Read Part 1: There’s never enough time for news
My office mate’s words triggered in my brain an exact scene that I had with my father more than 20 years ago. I would jokingly tell him he looked old because he was reading a newspaper.
I always had this notion back when I was in my 20s that newspapers were for old people. Whenever I visited coffee shops and restaurants in my city, I saw old men reading newspapers. And they were also having coffee. These male adults — mostly in their 40s an above — were big fans of newspapers. You would rarely see young people reading serious national papers. Perhaps, tabloids, but most of the time, they were scanning it for something else other than news.
Years later, when I was working for a newspaper, I learned that newspaper demographics were older than the next, younger medium: the Internet, followed by social media.
I would often quiz my students on their thoughts about newspapers whenever we discuss news. They would give me the old refrain, but there were statements that struck me. I have paraphrased them for clarity and brevity below:
- Newspapers were yesterday’s news. The Internet has more recent and updated news.
- “I cannot understand the language of a newspaper.” When I was studying journalism, I was told my tone and my level of English should be at a level of a grade 4 or 5 student. This meant big words were a no-no. Sentences were kept short but still substantial to make sense.
- Newspapers were too formal. The language was too institutional. Students wanted a style and language that resonated with them. They would prefer blogs or niche websites that would align with their interests.
- “I hate politics.” This, I get a lot. Newspapers were often associated with political news. My students preferred content that they would aspire to: fashion, indie films, foreign celebrities, inspiring lifestyle trends, photography, travel, television, and some sprinkle of gossip. And oh, add sneakers, bags, online quizzes.
- Newspapers were boring. They featured the same stuff everyday. (Self-explanatory).
- My parents were not buying newspapers anymore.
- They got their news on Twitter, Facebook and (place a social network or blog URL here). Newspapers were outdated.
Let’s face it. There is no scarcity of news — or content today. We have too much of it, thanks to the Internet where everyone is a publisher, content creator.
Today’s young people (I will stop calling them a millennial) still read news. Obviously, they are not getting it from a newspaper. However, not everyone has deeper connection with news. This means they may know the headlines, but quiz them on context or timelines of a recent story, they will struggle most of time. Their connection and engagement with news is fleeting. And it’s not entirely their fault. Why? Social networks have made news ubiquitous, but less engaging unless it is delivered in a visual format that will capture 6 to 8 seconds of their attention while they are breezing through their social news feeds.
Rarely do young people go to news websites to read the news. News finds them through friends and peers on social networks. Okay, let’s be blunt. They get their dose of news on Facebook — most of the time. It used to be Twitter early on, but Twitter has become too noisy and less relevant.
Young people’s media consumption is surprisingly simple. If you would slice it up in a pie chart, a big chuck of it goes to entertainment (mostly videos) and social networks. Of that big chunk, news would represent a small teeny weeny piece. Television viewing is down to cable or streaming. They don’t watch as we did years ago — on a boob tube.
I would even argue that today’s young people are too distracted by too much content — selfies, anyone? I also don’t subscribe to the idea that their attention spans are shorter than mine. They don’t just have enough time for news because their media plate is full of unnecessary media junk food that keeps them “fed” but not fully nourished.
There’s never enough time for news for our younger people because news is just one of many content that is available to them.
About the author: He reads a newspaper, loves his morning coffee, and is a big fan of books — mostly non-fiction. Drop him a message on Twitter @erwinoliva or do comment below if you find his musics worth your time.
