Points For Consideration: Newspaper Format

The Stovall text addresses that some individuals believe that the Inverted scheme is actually outdated due to the speed and currency of other news outlets, specifically radio and television broadcasts are able to actually produce stories at a much faster rate thus filling the newspapers nitche. I feel that in theory this might work, and it could be percieved that the newspaper might serve more of a public purpose if they gave more detailed articles.

I don't really feel this is accurate however, since the difference between the three media formats are actually made irrelevant when you consider the fact that advertisement comes into play. While the newspaper is only confined by the amount of advertisement space they sell in order to cut down on cost, television and radio are still limited to the guidelines set to them. They only have a limited amount of time already taken up by commericals in which they must cover the rest of their stories. In the case of radio the Top 40 controls what is being played when and how the news will be cycled (on popular music stations), and in order to make sure their listenership is constantly informed many of their stories are repeated to ensure that their audience is given the proper coverage. Television has the same restrictions having to show both commericals as well as report their stories in a particular order, and while channels such as CNN attempt to circumvent this issue by having a streaming billboard at the bottom of the screen with a steady update of information they are still limited by the programming time allotted. That means that the only difference between the three medias (without considering company and coverage differences) is the format that they deliver the news: print or broadcast.

At that point people can decide for themselves which they prefer.