Read all about it – some last words for the printed word

EL PASO, Texas — Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to honor the heroes, the visionaries, the martyrs, the teachers, the mentors and the smart-asses that have contributed to the legacy of Print Media here at the University of Texas at El Paso. In these times of great technological advancement, the souls that lie buried in the ink of the pages that challenged authority, informed the populous and bled perspective will never be forgotten. In our borderland, the border we face is not only that which divides our twin cities. We also approach an epochal border, moving into a digital age where the blog is the new editorial, craigslist is the new classified ads and RSS feeds are the new paperboys. On November 2, 2009, former ABC White House correspondent Sam Donaldson announced the creation of a new degree at UTEP: Multimedia Journalism.

El Paso’s print media struggles in a waning news industry

The dramatic shift in how people access the news today raises a question about how democracy and the flow of information will interact in the years ahead. A large segment of the population is moving away from traditional news outlets to alternative news sources. Some have been assembled by traditional news organizations delivering information in print, on television and on the radio as well as via the Internet and mobile devices. Others include the thousands of blogs created by journalists, activists and citizens on the Internet. Readers and viewers, especially the younger ones, don’t want to pick up their news in the morning from their doorstep or wait for the dinnertime newscast. They want their up-to-the-minute news on demand, when it works for them.