Seattle and the future of newspapers
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's bid to survive online after publishing its last newspaper
All eyes in the newspaper industry are on Seattle, said Julie Moos in Poynter Online. On Tuesday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published its final print edition, and on Wednesday it debuted as an online-only product. It will be up to SeattlePI.com to prove that local news websites can succeed where so many newspapers are failing.
"Is the Web the newspaper industry's salvation?" asked Ed Oswald in Technologizer. "Likely not." Shrinking the Post-Intelligencer's newsroom staff from 165 to 20, and cutting out printing and distribution costs can't compensate for the big mistake newspaper executives still make online—they want to charge for information, and their readers expect it to be free.
Seattle, home to Microsoft and Amazon, is the nation's most wired city, said Jack Shafer in Slate, so the new P-I has a shot if it can reflect that "Webified glory." That means updating the homepage "as many times an hour as humanly possible," and making the site alive by letting developers experiment. Following the newsroom chief's vision, which "reads like an advertisement for embalming fluid," will spell certain doom.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The pressure of South Korea's celebrity culture
In The Spotlight South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron was laid to rest on Wednesday after an apparent suicide
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Should lying in politics be a criminal offence?
Today's Big Question Welsh government considers new crime of deliberate deception by an elected official
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Store closings could accelerate throughout 2025
Under the Radar Major brands like Macy's and Walgreens are continuing to shutter stores
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published