There is not a single newspaper in our part of Wisconsin that is not stagnant or in decline. Not one.
(Stagnation, truly, applies only if one keeps the interval of measurement small; look over any reasonable period and you’ll find ongoing decline.)
When town squires and self-declared ‘movers and shakers’ look for a compliant publication, they’re choosing among newspapers that are smaller and weaker than they were even last year.
Media are not stagnant or declining; there are plenty of growing means of expression: Facebook, Twitter, email, text messaging, Instagram, Pinterest, blogs, etc.
For the old guard, though, for those who expect a soft touch from soft-headed newspapers, there’s less and less on which they may depend.
They’ve lost a general audience for their views, and now desperately rely on papers with a waning readership, increasingly unrepresentative and out-of-touch.
Odd, though, because even now it might be different, with a different approach.
Might be, but probably won’t be, ever again.