MY TURN

Digital Dad Versus the Dinosaurs

My father, a third-generation newspaper publisher, warned of the industry's demise. None of us listened.

NEWSWEEK
Published Mar 28, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Apr 6, 2009

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  • Posted By: billyreed @ 04/21/2009 10:19:46 AM

    I had the great honor of working for Barry Jr. throughout his tenure as publisher of the C-J. I remember him talking about the electronic future of journalism as early as 1972. Most of the news staff thought he was nuts, I'm ashamed to say. He was, indeed, a visionary. I admired his intellect, loved him as a friend, and was privileged to work for him.

  • Posted By: klvip @ 03/31/2009 12:19:10 PM

    It might be worth watching this video from 1981. The future of news. Very interesting: http://bit.ly/X8ES

  • Posted By: klvip @ 03/31/2009 12:17:48 PM

    It might be worth watching this video from 1981 (The Future of Newspapers). Very interesting. - http://bit.ly/X8ES

  • Posted By: lhwerner @ 03/30/2009 6:16:19 PM

    I was fortunate to work for the Binghams for 10 years. Not only was Barry Jr. a visionary with respect to the electronic newspaper, he was a stickler for journalistic ethics. When I was assigned to the consumer affairs beat as a young reporter, he took me to lunch to assure me that I would have a free hand in reporting on the wrongdoings of businesses, including advertisers. In fact, he tipped me to some unethical practices by mail-order health insurers who were advertising with the Courier-Journal. My subsequent investigation cost the company several hundred thousand dollars after Mr. Bingham tossed them out of the paper until they cleaned up their act.

  • Posted By: wstephenjackson @ 03/29/2009 12:56:30 PM

    Such a wonderful article about the kind of visionary who is usually ignored ... the practical visionary. As humans, we always tend to listen to those who tell us what we wish to hear, and ignore those who do not. We do so at our own peril. When I was 12 (1969) I became fascinated with computers and was convinced that one day they would be small enough to fit on a table top, and that everyone would have one. I was one of many, I am sure, who saw this in my youthful exuberance. Unfortunately, I had no more real confidence in my words than those around me, so I did not buy Apple when it went public ... or I would not still be working!

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