How vital is the survival of America’s leading newspapers, such as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal? In the seismic transformation of the media all of us are living through, the very fate of modern journalism seems to some – to hang in the balance.
According to Fernando Canzian of Brazil’s Folha newspaper, blogs and forums are no substitute for enterprises like the Times, which is able to break and cover major stories like the deteriorating state of air safety symbolized by the recent crash in Buffalo of Continental Air Flight 3407.
For Folha, Canzian writes in part:
“Just hours after the Buffalo crash, two of the best American newspapers, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, brought to light grim stories about how airlines are cutting costs – to the point of compromising safety. Everybody has an opinion. But one needs 1300 journalists to make a product with the quality of The New York Times to expose stories like those above, while also following live wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka and the floods in Maranhão.”
But in an interesting comparison with Brazil, which has a population roughly a third less than the United States, Canzian writes hopefully:
“While the market for printed newspapers in the U.S. has been shrinking, it’s still gigantic. Just the top three, USA Today, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, have a combined circulation of over 5 million copies. Moreover, online demand for their content is increasing rapidly. In Brazil, if we add up all the major national and regional newspapers, it wouldn’t reach even half the circulation of the three largest North American newspapers.”
By Fernando Canzian*
Translated By Brandi Miller
May 18, 2009
Brazil – Folha – Original Article (Portuguese)
FROM NEW YORK: Last week the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board held hearings on the crash of an aircraft in Buffalo, N.Y. on February 12. The tragedy killed 49 people on board and one on the ground.
In a matter of hours, two of the best North American newspapers, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, brought to light grim stories about how airlines in the country are cutting costs – to the point of compromising the safety of those that need to fly in a continental country like the mainland U.S.
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