Is this the Twitter of the 1940s? Sure looks like it.
The Boston Globe in the 1940s provided breaking news before the story was in the paper. I’m assuming people still purchased the paper.
(The people standing outside are likely the sub-species of Homo sapiens known as news junkies)
There isn’t much difference between the picture above and today. We can still break news on the modern chalkboard – Twitter – and people will still buy our product if it the full story adds context and assists with their understanding of the world.
When there were numerous newspapers in a city, people didn’t have to buy any single newspaper. They could choose the one which did the best job that day. The web is no difference, the only substantial change is the acceleration of timelines. It’s now who is covering the story best this hour.
What’s happening now isn’t the end of journalism, it’s the return to the journalism of olde.