Ensuring supply meets the demand of local news in our region

“The West Australian has sacked senior journalists, photographers and a number of other staff, as the newspaper confronts a significant fall in profit in the 12 months to the end of June,” I read aghast.

People did not hold back as they commented on the Facebook post by WAtoday.

One reader simply put: “RIP print journalism” – with a crying face emoji.

It is something people have been saying since the growth of the Internet and the emergence of social media.

Occasionally I have been asked about this topic, usually by locals who I had just finished interviewing.

What is there for me to say?

People will always want to be in the know.

Spreading news dates as far back as the dawn of humankind.

It starts at childhood, with your parents informing you about the world’s happenings. At school, where gossip would spread from ear to ear. To adulthood, where people develop habits of how they want their daily news fix.

For me, it started when I was little boy in our family household in London – getting the newspaper was a daily ritual.

My parents would leave exactly 32p on the kitchen counter every night, so one of us would take a five-minute walk to the local newsagency to pick up our usual rag after breakfast.

The person who fetched it would read it first; every page from top to bottom.

It would then be left on the kitchen table for every member of our house to have a read.

Some days we would double-up and end up with two papers. Not that that mattered, two papers was better than no newspaper.

Reading newspapers has stuck with me, I am “old school” in that sense.

Unlike most in my generation, I would rather flick through a newspaper with a cup of tea than view it online.

I am sure many of you are the same.

Plus, staring at screens for long periods is a strain on the eyes. I should know.

A Bridgetown couple assured me of any fears of print media dying out any time soon; stating that there is always a need for local news, no matter what platform it is presented on.

Do you prefer watching the news in the form of videos?

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism recently published its annual Digital News Report, authored by Nic Newman.

The report, which is supported by groups such as Google and the BBC, surveys 50,000 people across 26 countries about their digital news habits.

News providers were positively driven to increase their volumes of video to meet revenue targets.

“Across our entire sample, the vast majority (78 per cent) say they only read news in text or occasionally watch news video that looks interesting. Just one in 20 (five per cent) say they mostly watch rather than read news online,” the report said.

The main barriers to using news videos were clear; people either found reading quicker and more convenient, or found video pre-roll ads a major put off.

Quite frankly I would rather read my news than watch it; unless I am alone in a quiet spot with strong, unlimited WiFi connection.

I topped my inspiring week of journalism off by coming across an image of Fleet Street’s last journalists – Darryl Smith and Gavin Sherriff – outside The Sunday Post building in London’s Fleet Street on August 5, the day of its closure.

It was a sad sight to see.

Newspapers will not die if readers keep buying them.

Here at the Mail, we welcome feedback from our readers; be it positive or negative.

What would you like to see more of? What improvements can you suggest? If you have stopped buying our newspaper, then tell us why.

Write a letter to: matt.lau@fairfaxmedia.com.au                                           – Matthew Lau