As long as I can remember the daily newspaper has been a source of consistency for me and my family. It arrived consistently; it consistently kept me informed, it consistently accompanied me in the bathroom; it consistently began fires on a chilly day. I’m confident that this is not just a case that is localized to my family alone, but to many families across this country.

Currently in America newspaper production teams are facing the threat of shutdown. This is not just due to the current economic crisis, it is also due to the fact that the way we receive news is changing. Many Americans are finding it easier to obtain the latest news using the World Wide Web. This shift of receiving news from print to online has its advantages and disadvantages.

With the current generation of the Internet, known as Web 2.0, online news production teams can break the latest news as it is happening. Reports can be streamed live on the Internet, articles can be accompanied by sound and video, errors can be easily fixed after an article has been published, and the audience that can view an online newspaper can be instantly viewed across the globe.

All of these examples are beneficial in the shift from print to online. Considering these fantastic additions that Web 2.0 can bring to a news story, what negative aspects could possibly deter a newsreader from changing mediums?

For starters, a print newspaper isn’t as vast as its online competition. This is a plus to me because it keeps things simple. You don’t have to decide between thousands of articles, it’s just there in front of you.

Another plus to print is portability. Print newspapers can be taken almost anywhere, are light, and can be read at anytime, whereas online newspapers require access to the Internet and a CPU.

Print newspapers can be multi-purposeful too. As mentioned earlier they need to only to be read, but they can be used to start a fire, as decoration, for arts and crafts, or even as a book cover.

An aspect of online journalism that is an enormous topic of debate is the vastly growing concept of citizen journalism. An example of citizen journalism is somebody (non-professional journalist) that uses their Twitter.com account to give updates of ballgame that they are in attendance of. Or somebody putting an accident they captured footage of on their blog.

This form of journalism opens the doors for anyone to skew news anyway that they want, making it hard to distinguish what is real news and what isn’t real news online.

Because of all the positives associated with going to a trusted online news site, it is likely that I (and most everyone else) will transition to using online newspapers. But as of now, I have to say that the classic way of receiving news is my favorite way of receiving news.