Are newspapers dying?
For years, it has been said that newspapers are at death's door. Every year brings more news of closing. But why is the situation so1for newspapers?
Newspapers have a long history. The first newspaper was printed in the 1600s. The industry witnessed its most successful periods in the early 20th century.
With the appearance of radio and TV, however, newspaper circulation (发行量) began to fall. By the mid﹣20th century, radio and TV had become so popular that people no longer had to2newspapers for news. That was especially true of breaking news.
Afternoon newspapers were the first to suffer. People coming home from work increasingly turned on the TV, instead of opening a newspaper because TV could provide news that happened a short time ago. It's true that newspapers couldn't compete with TV on3, but they could provide in﹣depth reports that TV news could not.
But newspapers suffered another, heavier blow (打击) in the 1990s. With the appearance of the internet, large amounts of information became4. Many newspaper readers realized that they could read news on the Internet. There seemed to be little reason to pay for a newspaper subscription (订阅).
So what does the future hold? Will newspapers die? Maybe not. Many newspapers are now making5. Some are going digital. Some are going farther and taking the industry to places it has never been to. After all, people still want the news. And many agree that newspapers are still an important source of in﹣depth news, analysis and opinions. If newspapers6completely, there will be nothing to take their place.