04/22/2016

Enquirer celebrating 175th anniversary

Editor's Note: Congratulations to The Cincinnati Enquirer on the celebration of their 175th anniversary. To see the first issue of the Enquirer from 1841, and to learn more about Cincinnati during those years, click here.

By Rick Green, president of The Enquirer, and Peter Bhatia, editor of The Enquirer.

We proudly live in a place that values long-standing institutions and traditions.

We saw that again last Monday with the 97th Opening Day parade that made its way from Findlay Market through Downtown. Music Hall, where early stages of its renovation are underway dates to 1878. And The Enquirer, founded in 1841, turned 175 Sunday (April 10).

The first edition of The Enquirer came six days after the ninth president of the United States and first president from Ohio, William Henry Harrison, died only 32 days into his term.

We welcome you to our birthday celebration, in the paper and on Cincinnati.com today, and at events in the coming months. While we celebrate our history, we also look forward to the years ahead of serving this region with news and information that matter to you and providing continuing leadership to the community. Technology might change, but not our commitment to Greater Cincinnati.

Time generally moved slowly for newspapers in the first 125 years or so of The Enquirer’s existence. Techniques and styles evolved, ownership changed, but the fundamentals of journalism largely remained the same. Reporters reported, wrote their stories on typewriters (which were invented in the mid-1800s) and saw those stories set in type and printed, initially on simple presses and evolving into the huge machines we still use today.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that computerization came to the industry, both in typesetting and the tools used by reporters. It is stunning what has happened since.

The Enquirer “went digital” 20 years ago when we began offering online versions of our print editions on a site that morphed into Cincinnati.com. It has become the region’s essential digital source for local content – from breaking news to award-winning multimedia presentations. It draws more visitors and engagement than any other news site in Greater Cincinnati and only will get stronger in the months and years ahead.

Today, driven by rapidly evolving digital technology, we do even more ambitious work across platforms in a world of smartphones, apps and software. Reporters may prepare multiple versions of their stories as they break during the day, evening or night, updating on the fly on the web. Photographers can file their images directly to Cincinnati.com, an amazing contrast from the world of darkrooms and chemicals that are only about a quarter century past.

We live now in a world where anyone can “report” to the Web or via social media. The deluge of news and information from countless sources can be deafening. Institutions such as The Enquirer have had to adapt and deal with economic models blown up by disruptive innovations such as Craigslist and find new ways to communicate with generations raised in the digital world.

This has led to predictions of the end of newspapers and the end of journalism as we know it.

We don’t agree.

Journalism, in many ways, has never been healthier. There are more sources for information than ever before. There have never been more “consumers” of content. There are specialized sites for every topic. You can find out where “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” originated with just a few key strokes. (Of course, Ohioans know it comes from the 1840 presidential campaign of Harrison and his vice president, John Tyler.)

Here’s the important thought: Even with the challenges to our industry over the past decade as the shift to digital has taken hold, journalism remains strong.

Our recent investigations of parks operations in Cincinnati and the Metropolitan Sewer District speak to the important work still being done by journalists. Such content remains the No. 1 priority for The Enquirer news operation as we place an even higher premium on deep, meaningful reporting and compelling storytelling. It is what Cincinnati deserves and expects of The Enquirer.

As for printed newspapers, it would be a mistake to write them off. There’s no question our long-term future is in the digital space, but newspapers remain popular among large numbers of readers and advertisers. It’s an audience that has yet to abandon us, and we refuse to abandon it even as we expand our reach and investment digitally.

The reason? A significant percentage of the population – many of whom are baby boomers – like to turn the page and experience the serendipity and sensibility of what the newspaper holds. The ads still bring buyers into stores. Plenty of Cincinnati mornings still begin with mugs of coffee and our print editions.

One author, a distinguished academic named Philip Meyer, predicted the last newspaper will publish in 2043. So we have 27 years left? Who knows for sure. No doubt technology will have the final say. But, again, what’s important is that journalism survives, not a specific method of delivery.

Many of us learned to read in part sitting on mom or dad’s lap while they read the paper. That’s a Norman Rockwell-esque tradition whose time is largely past, thanks to the likes of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and other digital revolutionaries.

But don’t count out journalism. It will be here 175 years from now. Our job is to ensure The Enquirer is, too.

As always, thanks for reading.