Hugh Hewitt: The Golden Age of Journalism

In the aftermath of the big layoffs at The Washington Post, there has been an explosion of commentary—again—about the decline of newspapers.

But if our concern is about journalism and not simply protecting old newspapers, there’s little to worry about.

Readers will always read. News junkies will always find and especially read news. Reading is simply faster than broadcast, so news delivered by text is always going to have a market.

“Journalism is a craft, not a profession,” the late Michael Kelly would routinely state when he was a weekly guest on my radio program. And the craft survives and thrives in the United States unlike anywhere else in the world because of our First Amendment. The never-ending “creative destruction” of capitalism—thanks for the phrase goes to Joseph Schumpeter—is the constant companion of every business, including journalism.

Text-only platforms remain abundant. News delivery platforms are plentiful. And there are zero gatekeepers.

In America, at least, the Golden Age of Journalism has begun.

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