Excellent essay in the On Line Journalism review. Written by Vin Crosbie....
The bad case of bronchitis suffered by Chang Bunker probably didn't alarm his brother Eng, despite their being conjoined at the chest. Born in the kingdom of Siam in 1811, the 63-year-old brothers -- who inspired the term "Siamese twins" -- had retired as farmers to Mount Airy, North Carolina, after decades touring the world as curiosities and freaks. They had lived a vigorous life despite their conjoined bodies, and Eng reportedly felt in good health that night.
So, Eng was quite surprised when, awaking the next morning and seeing Chang had died, he suddenly realized that his brother's death was also his own. Despite his apparent good health, Eng died within hours of his brother because of their dependency.
Of course, newspapers online and newsprint editions aren't Siamese twins: The newsprint editions can exist without the online editions -- but online editions can't exist without newsprint editions. Ten years into the era of publishing via the Internet, online editions still depend almost totally upon newsprint editions for content and financial support.
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