Newspapers are becoming more balanced businesses, with a healthier mix of revenues from readers and advertisers. American papers

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问题     Newspapers are becoming more balanced businesses, with a healthier mix of revenues from readers and advertisers. American papers have long been highly unusual in their reliance on ads. Fully 87% of their revenues came from advertising in 2006, according to the OECD. In Japan the proportion is 35%. Not surprisingly, Japanese newspapers are much more stable.
    The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody, but much of the damage has been concentrated in areas where newspapers are least distinctive. Car and film reviewers have gone. So have science and general business reporters. Foreign bureaus have been savagely pruned. Newspapers are less complete as a result. But completeness is no longer a virtue in the newspaper business. Just look at the fate of Otis Chandler’s creation.
    Thanks to family connections, Chandler ended up in control of the Los Angeles Times in 1960. The paper he inherited was parochial and conservative, reflecting the city it served. Chandler abandoned the anti-union dogma and set about building a west-coast rival to the New York Times. His paper was heavy on foreign news and serious, objective reporting. The result was hugely impressive—but not, as it turned out, suited to the internet era. In the past few years the paper has suffered repeated staff cuts. In 2007 it was acquired by a property magnate and in 2008 filed for bankruptcy protection.
    The problem with such newspapers is that, although they do much that is excellent, they do little that is distinctive enough for people to pay for it. The Los Angeles Times’ foreign reporting is extremely good. But it is hard to argue that it is better than the stuff supplied by the New York Times or foreign papers. Similarly, it has never been clear why each major newspaper needs its own car reviewer a Corolla is a Corolla, whether it is driven in Albuquerque or Atlanta. Papers should concentrate on what they do best, which means, in many cases, local news and sport. If the rest is bought in from wire services or national organizations, readers are unlikely to complain—as long as there is enough competition between those larger providers to keep up standards. Specialization generally means higher quality.
    It is grim to forecast still more writers losing their jobs. But whether newspapers are thrown onto doorsteps or distributed digitally, they need to deliver something that is distinctive. New technologies like Apple’s iPad only make this more true. The mere acquisition of a smooth block of metal and glass does not magically persuade people that they should start paying for news. They will pay for news if they think it has value. Newspapers need to focus relentlessly on that.
The author would most likely agree that

选项 A、newspaper industry will disappear soon.
B、newspapers should strive to attract people.
C、no more writers would lose their jobs in future.
D、technology helps newspaper attract more readers.

答案B

解析 作者观点题。最后两句作者说,人们只有在觉得新闻有价值时才会付钱购买,报纸应该注重这一点。换句话说,报纸应该专注于为读者提供人们愿意付钱购买的新闻,也就是,报业需要想办法吸引人。所以B项正确。
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