Before we get to "who," let's look at "what." One major circumstance that changed the newspaper industry was the arrival of radio. Radio made its debut in 1920, and by 1922, it was sweeping the country. At first, newspapers generally ignored radio, hoping it was a fad; newspaper editors saw radio as potential competition for advertisers, as well as a threat to circulation-- it was easier to listen to the news than to read it. But when it became obvious that radio was here to stay (and when it also became obvious that radio fans did not necessarily reject newspapers), many newspapers embraced the new mass medium, hiring a radio editor to report on the programs and the stars, and even having a radio page that featured inside scoops on what went on Behind the Scenes at the local and national stations.
But while radio did not kill off newspapers, it was a fact that newspaper readership was on the decline, and even if radio was only partly to blame, the 1920s was an era when fewer people were buying the newspaper. As for who changed the industry, it is difficult to point to any one person. Many newspapers kept readers by offering compelling story-telling and Excellent (and well-respected) reporters and columnists. It was a decade of a number of major and controversial stories, and radio did not yet have fully developed news departments, so the public continued to rely on newspapers and news magazines (Time magazine made its debut in 1923, for example) to stay informed.
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