Hula Hoops, Buggie Whips and Newspapers: Are they Obsolete?
Are Newspapers Going the Way of the Hula Hoop?
by Rhonda Roland Shearer
StinkyJournalism.org
Will newspapers follow the Hula Hoop in obsolescence? South Carolina Press Assn. wrote a canned Op-Ed for its members in honor of National Newspaper Week that says “No.” The late Richard Knerr, on right, and Arthur Melin, left, co-inventors of the Hula Hoop, were shown in happier times
Will newspapers follow the Hula Hoop in obsolescence? South Carolina Press Assn. wrote a canned Op-Ed for its members in honor of National Newspaper Week that says “No.”
It was “ National Newspaper Week ,†Oct. 5-11, 2008, according to the promotional material orchestrated by the Newspaper Association of America. South Carolina newspapers chose their theme — “Newspapers … still going strong†— for their statewide campaign. Among the bromides, such as “newspapers aren’t dead yet,†Dianne Owens, SCNow.com, website for a SC media group, wrote, “ As one S.C. newspaper consultant and co-owner said in an opinion piece about newspapers ‘Newspapers aren’t going the way of the hula hoop.’ â€
Turns out the quote was taken from a stock Op-Ed offered-up by the SC Press Assn. for its members. The canned Op-Ed was titled, ” Newspapers aren’t going the way of the hoola hoop.” The unnamed “consultant” was Jerry Bellune, a past president of the SC Press Assn. and co-owner of the Lexington County Chronicle & The Dispatch News. The SC Press Assn. page instructs , ” To receive the text of the following [Op-Ed] pieces, please highlight, copy and paste the text.
“Continuing to celebrate National Newspapers Week“.
|
WANT MORE Rhonda Shearer and Stinky Journalism.org? Try these recent posts: * Alabama’s Monster Pig Hoax, one year later * STEALTH REDESIGN After splitting its website from the MSNBC.com site and reclaiming its copyright, Newsweek also removed the MSNBC and Microsoft logos from its print masthead. Why? * J-School Confidential A grad student’s glimpse into Columbia University’s School of Journalism |
by Rhonda Roland Shearer
image: Stinky Journalism.org
