Burn? Maybe, but Won't Crash

Mallary Tenore wrote a article this past Monday that is very much related to the article I wrote my blog on last week. Last week I wrote about how it was a journalist's duty to read the newspaper and this week Tenore agrees says she doesn't feel as a journalist it is her duty but it is a "sign of appreciation for the hard work that goes into creating a newspaper."

Tenore admits that she spends at least eight hours a day online keeping up with her various blogs, web pages, and news updates. On the contrary Tenore also admits she wrote the first draft to this article by hand. "As much as I'm logged into the online world, I look forward to the end of the day when I can log off," Tenore says. To Tenore these are moments of peace that she treasures that her countless hours online don't offer.

"Paper," Tenore says. "The product that's been around for 2,000 years and still hasn't lost it's grove."

Tenore feels there is no substitute for paper. When reading articles online there is always some advertisement flashing with a dancing alien that's trying to grab your attention. The 'tailorability' of paper is quite possibly Tenore's favorite part about it. It allows you to follow along with your pen and underline and write notes as you read, something online reading doesn't offer.

The article refers to an essay written by William Powers entitled Hamlet's Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal, from which Tenore gets her idea of tailorability. Powers states three other ways paper helps us read. The first of the three is tangibility. This is simply how we navigate through books and paper. It's much easier navigation. Secondly, Powers points out spatial flexibility. This simply means the reader is able to spread multiple texts out and have them within an arms reach. The final idea is manipulability, meaning one can easily shuffle through multiple papers.

Tenore finishes her argument explaining that she is a fan of both online and paper. Why can't we just take what each offers over the other and embrace it? Tenore wishes to see a business model that embraces both.

Although it is a source for much controversy it seems that all journalist have one common view: embrace paper.