In this week’s screening, we spiral into the sad reality of the decline of press circulations within The Wire. In this episode, characters spoke on the real but unfortunate truth that newspapers are becoming a past thing. As of today, the Internet has become extremely accessible to information that society tends to forget. Within The Wire, we discuss and tackle the fact that people are moving away from physical print and the enforcement of credibility.

The majority of news reporters and broadcasting stations today uses newspapers as a form of reliable reference as newspapers were made to find the truth. These publishers are still the anchors for the truth as lies and mistrusted information is a form of liability; after a law was passed in 1733, within the John Peter Zenger case. This case created a presidency for future publishers as the “truth is the best defense against liable.” Specifically, this case became the stamp that enforced the Press’s Freedom in the United States and was included in the Bill of Rights.
However, Within The Wire, we saw in the infringement between characters that there are still bad apples that would risk the publishing company for a “good story” than finding credible sources. But with false information Newspapers, prints can face harsh backlash and legal enforcement if they followed through.

Unfortunately, with today’s technology evolution, the Internet doesn’t hold such enforcement and standards. This leak of information makes lies, and clickbait spread quite efficiently while the newspaper is still finding the truth.

In the past decade, newspapers have begun to decrease exponentially. As readers are no longer home, and many things are exchanging to be online, many publishing departments began to see cuts in staff, pay, and locations.

“Newspapers have control over which stories are told and how those stories are presented. Just as the newspaper industry has changed dramatically over the years, journalistic writing styles have been transformed. Many times, such changes mirrored a trend shift in readership; since the 1950s, however, newspapers have had to compete with television journalism and, more recently, the Internet. Both television and the Internet have profoundly affected newspaper audiences and journalistic styles.” (157)

I have recently noticed at Alfred University the change of readers on campus. Younger folks who were once readers are beginning to decline as older and genuine readers are the few that still pick up a print. Regardless of the world going through a pandemic, which increased everyone’s screen time, college students have begun to stop reading print thoroughly. And in the Fiat Lux News attempt to find more content to navigate students to pick up the newspapers more frequently, this has forced the newspaper to move online. Many Newsrooms now hope that their credential and standards still live up to what they had before.

My question to the reader: Do you feel that the switch to online will put regular blogs and factual newspapers at the same level? Will society begin to believe that everything on the Internet is a creditable source?