“The internet should be a supplement to reading the newspaper,” Dan Rather said on Monday night on Real Time with Bill Maher. ABC correspondent Martha Radatz agreed. Newspapers are a primary resource, online second.

I have a confession: The internet is my primary source for news. I scan headlines in dozens of newsletters. I go to several news websites a day. TV is my secondary source. Newspaper third. I only read it on Sunday. Also, I have a masters in Journalism, several journalism awards, and have worked at ABC News. With all these sources for news at my finger tips, I feel much better informed than I did when I just had newspapers and newsmagazines.

With all the real and digital ink these days about dying newspapers, dying movie industry, dying record industry, one has to wonder about key stakeholders such these two who so clearly don’t get it. In fact, in one point during the interview Martha Radatz noted that during the day, the front page of the New York Times online edition changes. This she clearly portrayed as a negative. Because the “top story,” which used to be so static, so controlled, is no longer.

Yep. And guess what? Newsies like me check in with the New York Times several times a day to see what is currently leading the news as opposed to buying it once and throwing it away. That’s good for the paper, and its advertisers. The goal must be to get ad rates to reflect this value.