Do we want newspapers or free internet?

Walter Isaacson, President of Aspen Institute, asks Americans to "Save the Newspaper" in his cover page article in Time Magazine. The article speaks to the notion that consumer readers are not buying the print versions of their favorite newspaper or magazine because the consumer sees no reason to pay when the same article is free on-line. The general concept of free internet makes publications feel obligated to offer their service for free and result in the journalistic entities running out of money. Newspapers are now reaching the end of their ropes economically. Isaacson points out that some publications have completely eliminated their print editions to allow the publication to concentrate its efforts and funds on the on-line edition. Some publications offer on-line subscriptions, which works well, but what if you just want to read one article. To me that is the beauty and benefit of news online. I do not have to buy a full subscription, paper, or magazine to read the one or two articles that interest me. Isaacson proposes an "iTunes-easy method of micropayments" that will allow for impulse article shopping. This may work, but I honestly do not use iTunes and if I discovered that I had to pay to read an on-line article then I would look elsewhere for the information. However, if forced to choose over the extinction of newspapers and free on-line articles I would pay. I believe there is value in a tangible read and it is just not as satisfying to read an article on-line. The Daily Show interviewed Isaacson about his ideas and Isaacson touched on the fact that no one is going to produce journalism if they are not receiving a benefit. This issue is harder and is one that has been an ongoing battle intellectual property disputes: The balance between encouraging the the production of work and the rewarding the producer. Basically, if we want news we are going to have to pay. To borrow the cliche - There is no free lunch! As an artist myself, I must say I am bias towards rewarding the creator so I strongly support the journalist and publication side. At the same time, the consumer in me tells me that I will not pay for the on-line article. This will be a struggle and I hope, for the sake of quality journalism, that a good solution will be reached.