The new newspapers - good riddance to old news

The term dead wood media is apt for the old format of newspapers which are struggling to hold their own in the modern media marketplace. Hard to think nowadays that newspapers were the social media of their time, bringing people together to discuss the events of the day, or rather the events of the day before. Good riddance to old news.

Not that you would be saving a tree when you switch to online news only; producing the electricity required to run computers and other electronic devices put paid to that. Fortunately, however, these devices are getting evermore energy efficient. And ever more efficient also are the new newspapers. The internet versions of newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have finally embraced the new media format properly and have come to play, quickly catching up with and surpassing popular blogs - even the much admired Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo - in style and quality. Adding interactive features like live blogging to their wealth of journalistic experience newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post are the new kids on the block again - you don't mind hanging out with these guys, as the very active comment postings on their articles reflect. They are, alas, the social instigators again.

The Financial Times (ft.com) in particular has a smart userfriendly design. Special mention also to TIME magazine whose online version is easy to use and provides good reading and fun articles, such as their interesting features and lists. Here's to the new news!