Who Reads Newspapers, Anyway?

Early this school year the following exchange occurred:

Teacher: Who reads newspapers?
Student: Old people.

The context was the important role that newspapers played in the role of communication of ideas during the pre-Confederation of Canada. That is, the period just before Canada became a country in 1867. Many will be familiar with the influential position that George Brown held as editor of the Globe newspaper, forerunner to the Globe and Mail,  self-proclaimed as Canada's "national newspaper."

Turns out, the precocious teenager was spot on. She identified a key change as supported by the following article:  http://www.people-press.org/2012/09/27/in-changing-news-landscape-even-television-is-vulnerable/
Relevant statistics show that younger people are less inclined than previous generations to get their news from traditional media outlets, newspapers, and television stations included.

It will come as no surprise that print newspaper readership is down, while most people get their news from online sources, many of which do not fall under the umbrella of traditional media. The classroom exchange prompted a great guffaw, with me leading the laughter.

For full disclosure, I do have a subscription to a daily print copy of the Globe and Mail, and I consult it regularly, mostly for analysis and depth. I am also more inclined to get my news online, with Twitter feeds from all over the world providing the primary sources of information. To be sure, it is an eclectic mix of news outlets, each providing a nice cross-section of relevant news from around the globe.

Some have described this phenomenon as disruptive media. There is certainly nothing routine about this way of staying up-to-date. News can be accessed at any time, often from unconventional sources, including from observers who may or may not be employed by the media source reporting on the news. Students have even more inventive ways of staying au courant.

From a pedagogical perspective, and using the lens of MYP, the discussion above pointed out the value of teaching concepts as opposed to content. Even the concepts of time, place, and space were broadened in the classroom exchange which led to a discussion about communication, change, and continuity. Indeed, the narrow limitations of content were broken wide open in that one classroom moment that prompted a much richer discourse that was not confined within the usual parameters.

Final thought: I wonder if my students will be more inclined to read this article given its online source.

One thing for sure, they won't have to wait for it to be potentially published in print and delivered to their home. They can read it off of my Twitter feed or blogspot, if so inclined.