Newspapers Are So 1995

There are those who look to the fact that there are now B"H a multitude of 'chareidi' newspapers and magazines as a salvation, and wonder why anything more is needed.

In 1905, when the Gerer Rebbe other Gedolim were instrumental in founding the first Orthodox newspaper, a newspaper for Orthodox Jews was truly a revolutionary advance, and was viewed as such.

In 1948 the Hebrew daily Hamodia became the postwar successor to the Tageblat, and in recent years English language newspapers have appeared. This is certainly a significant step forward, particularly for our children.
However, newspapers no longer fill the 1905 niche, and here is why. A century ago newspapers were the main source of news. Large metropolises had a morning paper and an afternoon paper, and between the two publications an individual or family was current on the news and had plenty of features to read.Beginning in the 1950's many cities lost their afternoon papers as people discovered the radio was a better way to keep current.

All news and news/talk stations began to become popular in the sixties. Until Bill Clinton and his ilk added concepts to the news which would have earned a jail term for a broadcaster a few years earlier, even dedicated ‘kolel yunger leit', including those rejecting much of the modern world, would repair to radio news morning and evening.
Now, it can be maintained that our community missed the boat both in Israel and chutz l'oratz by not continuing what pre-war gedolim sacrificed for (which in my view was not newspapers per se but media access) and trying to create a radio station or network.

We look at newspapers as the main point – false! Newspapers were simply the only media a century ago. Our own media, and utilizing the tools of progress for Yiddishkeit and Tahara – that was what the of gedolim of yesterday meant!

The Internet could and should have been a solution. It includes much of the upside of radio without the downside. It can provide radio broadcasting, video of news events, and printable articles, all without venturing beyond the 'daled amos' of yiddishkeit if one so desires. In addition, the investment required is so much less than purchasing public bandwidth.

Moreover, it has become the main source of news for many of us, continuously updated and with much less (unsuitable) advertising intrusion than other media.

Rather than than saying no, and then ignoring ourselves, we should be there!

Is anyone listening?