Papers are 'the chronicle of a people'

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - On Friday, readers of the Grand Rapids Press and other major newspapers in West Michigan will stop seeing the paper delivered to their doorstep for much of the week.

As part of a move to a more digital reporting platform, the paper will be delivered to homes only three days a week. Printed editions will have fewer local reporters working on the content.

The building that housed the Press will now be occupied by an extension of the Michigan State University medical school.

The changes is part of a massive overhaul to local newspapers, including the Muskegon Chronicle, the Kalamazoo Gazette and the Grand Rapids Press.

Parent company Booth Newspapers has already said goodbye to many who put pen to paper for local stories, laying off more than 200 employees in West Michigan this January.

Now, many reporters will cover stories on a larger, statewide scale.

"You worry; What is the long term impact?" said Grand Rapids historian Gordon Olson. "We really don't know what this is all gonna be. Whether this change will be successful."

Olson thinks the changes will have implications beyond a change in daily habit.

"Are they doing the same number of local stories? Are they able to do the same number of local stories?"

While some are concerned about the reduction in the number of traditional news reporters, the Internet has made it easier to pass information through sites, blogs and social media.

But it's still uncertain how that "reporting" will be saved and be accessible in 10, 20, or 100 years in the same way as hard-copy newspapers.

"I don't trust anything I can't hold in my hand, and I've tried my darndest to get my hands around a pixel and just can't do it," said Olson.

Olson said that more than the loss of the information and the changes in the paper represent the decline of an important historical archive. Versions of the first editions of the Grand Rapids Press are still available to view at libraries -- something Olson says is important to everyone.

"They're the chronicle of a people, whether it's a community or a whole country," said Olson. "We not only want the news, but we also want to know how the community is changing."