What’s Wrong Here?

A someone, an office worker, sits on a bench with a coffee and a paper. Of these four things, two are in danger of extinction. Do you know which two?

Well, the coffee is becoming ever more popular. It’s not the coffee.

The bench is a timeless classic. It’s not going anywhere. If anything, benches are on the rise too.

The office worker. She’s toast. In 50 years, the majority of people will not work in an office. You may already be one of the lucky few who have de-shackled from slavery to start your own gig.

But really, the newspaper is doomed. Within maybe 10 years, the paper would not be in the shot. Is this a bad thing? No.

The clue is in the name. To consume news, you do not require paper. You can now watch news television on your phone, read the ‘paper’ on your phone and get it from all kinds of new outlets that did not exist ten years ago.

Think about all the biggest news stories in the last few years. Where were you on September 11th 2001? I was working at National Savings in Kensington, London. A raging maniac stumbled into our office, breathless, to say that a plane had somehow made contact with the World Trade Center. Unimpressed, we went back to work. These glider pilots. They get what they deserve. When another colleague arrived, he had similar news. Yeah, thanks. We know. No you don’t, he said. I’m talking about the second plane. Shit. The whole building went into panic. People went home. We were eventually sent home. Which for me was the hotel across the road, where I witnessed the BBC at its then best. Huw Edwards, guiding us through the amazing developments from New York. His colleagues were already on the planes, except they were suspended. For a while.

What is missing? A newspaper. They came into their own of course, but not for 24 hours or so. If that happened today, I would have had their output in seconds, in my phone. You don’t want to see my 2001 mobile phone.

What is the message here? Ignore the news. If it is important, someone else will tell you. You are too busy, your dreams too important. Kill the news television. Kill the newspaper subscription, even if it is the cheaper digital one. Listen to the 5-minute news bulletin on the radio but only once a day. Get on with life. It’s precious. And short.