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Photo Illustration by Peter Caty/ The Mirror

Newspaper circulation is falling, veteran journalists are losing jobs, and aspiring young storytellers are looking elsewhere for careers. So who is to blame?

Connecticut Post editor Thomas Baden believes that newspapers must take it upon themselves to cure the dying newspaper industry and doing so may not involve paper at all.

Baden told a journalism class Monday that a common misconception with newspapers is that the media is only concerned with the decline in newspapers sales, but fails to notice the sharp increase in online readership.

However, while the Internet provides the convenience of regularly updated news content, it has been a nightmare for journalists since readers do not need to pay, and can read the news before it would have hit their doorsteps in the morning.

Baden began his career at the Syracuse Post-Standard after attending the University of Maryland. After working as the city editor for the Post-Standard, Baden became a national political writer and the White House stringer for the Newhouse News Service located in Washington, D.C. While at Newhouse News, he covered President George H.W. Bush’s campaigns and administration and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.

He has worked in the journalism field for 28 years. Prior to becoming editor at the Connecticut Post, Baden was executive editor of Utah’s largest daily newspaper, The Salt Lake Tribune.  Baden replaced former editor James Smith of Oxford who worked as editor for the Post for three years.

With an extensive background in journalism, Baden has a plan to face the circulation problem head-on, and he is starting with the youth.

Baden said he is working to make the news content look and feel different, such as shorter, snappier stories, interactive blogs, and provocative, youthful voices, to attract younger readers.

Nevertheless, Baden is aware that he cannot forget his adult readers and dumb down newspapers to only cater to the youth.  He is still vested in a complete re-design of not only the Web site of the Post but also the print edition.

In this new age of journalism, said Baden, it is important remember that the diversification of news content will win the day, and in the end, information is what the people want.

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