Death of the newspaper: Generations of us vied for the fame of local news. What happened?

By Brandt Young

Sports Columnist

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away (Northeast Ohio, to be exact), I spent my formative years playing sports. One look at me now, and you wouldn’t believe that, but it’s true, and I have proof (like the kids today, I’m on MaxPreps with my like 32 total tackles). I couldn’t have given a darn less about my career statistics, but my main goal was always to have my picture and name in the paper.

And, admittedly, I fell short of that goal – quite often, in fact – but any time ole number 60 for the purple and white Titans of Triway High School made his way onto those pages, my grandma (who I’m convinced kept our local paper in business for the last two decades) made sure she got an extra copy to cut out for my scrapbook.

I know that many of you are recalling similar stories. “Ah, yeah, our seventh-grade baseball team got our picture in the paper for winning that tournament!” or “I remember when a picture of me shooting a free throw in fourth grade found its way there, haha” or similar sentences have now been (internally) spoken. It’s not often we recall the times we were in the paper for our high school sports, unless it was for a state championship or something of the like, but it’s those younger years that stay in our minds the most. Still, though, many of us have been athletes, at least at one point, who desired to have our names called out on Friday nights and printed in Saturday’s paper. Today’s kids don’t share those same feelings.

Some might, however, and to them, I say thanks. 

The others, it seems, chase the clout, the instant gratification of social media views and clicks from just their pictures. Box scores can be found as they happen, too, so they can get posted right alongside. 

I promise I’m not trying to be an old man yelling at clouds, and this doesn’t stem from my time in print media. Even before that, I saw this shift. Newspapers are dying for many reasons, and the general lack of interest is one of them. We can get our news instantly at our fingertips. By the time you can print out a paper, it’s old news. Someone’s already posted it on a website or Facebook. 

This also isn’t supposed to be a criticism of anyone. This is just a natural progression. But it hurts. Something I tried my best to do and be shown off for is going to be gone in the next decade. As of now, most people already don’t care. Our world of instant gratification has replaced storytelling. 

And, just as the digital camera replaced the old film ones, eliminating the need for dark rooms and such, to the dismay of many, the instantaneous news cycles will be phased out by some new technology years down the road, like the digital camera has taken a back seat to phones and mirrorless cameras today. This is a never-ending battle, and what’s popular now will soon be a forgotten memory. That is, until it makes a trendy comeback (looking at you, Polaroid). 

Let’s hope physical newspapers are the next thing to get that retro nostalgic resurgence.

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Brandt Young is a columnist, sports writer, and a described self-taught cigar aficionado. He has freelanced for various publications, and most recently served as a sports editor for a newspaper in North Carolina. Originally from Ohio, he resides here in North Carolina with his family.