The Parable of the Newspaper and the Internet

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, how will the Washington Post be changed now it’s owned by the founder of Amazon?”

Josh spoke thus:

“Get me a newspaper,” the millionaire said to a servant.

“A newspaper?” the servant said, “You don’t want a newspaper.  Newspapers are useless.”

“Newspapers aren’t useless,” the millionaire said.

“Anything you can get from a newspaper you can get faster from the Internet,” the servant said, “The news in a newspaper has to be gathered, and then after it has been gathered, it has to be typed up.”

“News on the Internet has to be gathered,” the millionaire said, “And news on the Internet has to be typed up.”

“But it’s already typed up when it’s gathered,” the servant said, “You get it in your computer over the Internet, and it’s already there, on your computer.  It’s a step saved.

“I see your point,” the millionaire said.

“Then after it’s been typed up, it has to be shown to an editor,” the servant said, “And after it’s been shown to an editor, it has to be altered to suit the editor’s tastes.”

“On the Internet stories are edited,” the millionaire said, “On the good sites they are.”

“But on the Internet, it’s less filtered,” the servant said, “Because on the Internet, the reader can find anything you’ve edited in its unedited state.”

“I see your point,” the millionaire said.

“Then after it’s been altered to suit the editor’s tastes, it has to be fact checked,” the servant said.

“Stories on the Internet are fact checked,” the millionaire said.

“The Internet is the fact check,” the servant said, “You can instantly fact check a story through numerous sources.”

“Not all those sources are reliable,” the millionaire said, “It’s the job of the editor to make sure the sources are reliable.”

“That’s a fair point,” the servant said, “But then the story has to be printed, and the paper has to be distributed, sold and bought.  It takes hours to get news out.  Sometimes a whole day is lost.”

“That’s true,” the millionaire said.

“So the Internet beats the newspaper,” the servant said.

“That’s if it’s the quickest news you want,” the millionaire said, “But that’s not what I want the newspaper for.”

“What is it you want the newspaper for?” the servant asked.

“My soccer shoes are damp, and I want to stuff the toes to help them keep their shape while they dry,” the millionaire said.

“Well here you are then,” the servant said, lifting a newspaper from the coffee table and handing it to the millionaire.

“All that an you have a newspaper right here?” the millionaire said, “What about the Internet?”

“You can’t trust the Internet,” the servant said, “The Internet is full of crazies.”