Internet news is growing at a rapid pace and newspapers are in decline. It’s the result of the economic collapse and advertising budgets being cut. Let’s face it, advertising is what paid the bills for the hundreds of newspapers that have been forced to shutdown. You can’t really say it any better than this: “Craigslist ate the classified ads. eHarmomy stole the personals. Google took those tiny ads for weird products. And Macy’s can email its own damn customers to announce a sale.” When you think about it, the Internet has stolen away the money that fueled the newspaper business. It has also impacted the way people receive and interact with the news.

A typical daily newspaper story may report on something that happened the day before. Online news can report on an event moments after it has occurred, even faster than television. However, this raises concerns about accuracy and credibility. Breaking news means nothing to me if the information is vague, lacking detail, and requires me to waste my time glued to a screen, following along with the reporters as they try to figure out the details. It’s like watching somebody assemble and install a ceiling fan. Who cares? Just come get me when it’s finished. It won’t waste my time, it’ll make sense, and I’ll appreciate it.

The advantage of Internet news is speed, convenience, and it’s free. I understand that the newspaper meant something in American culture. It was a staple. It was seemingly always there. You had breakfast, a cup of orange juice, and the morning paper. You taught your dog to fetch the paper. It meant something to the community, to the nation. I get that. It’s tragic to see such a longstanding industry in decline, but I don’t see Internet news as a terrible thing.

In many ways, Internet news serves the same functions as the newspaper. Go to a website like CNN.com and you will immediately see headlines and images, much like a traditional newspaper. You can find stories in different sections through the navigation bar. Throughout your online reading, you’ll see advertisements. And many news sites will allow you to comment on a story or share it with others by linking to most popular social networking sites. At their core, these are things that you could do with a newspaper, but they’re just done differently and faster on the Internet.

I don’t like the idea of inaccuracy and lack of credibility pinning the Internet as a poor news source. I think people are smarter than that. If you got your news from the National Enquirer, then you’re probably not going to get your news from credible online sources either. People that read credible newspapers, will find credible news sources on the Internet. That’s the way I see it.