As the new age of technology is growing the difference between print media and digital media has had a significant effect on print media, as some would argue. The motion that print is dying out is a huge issue revolving around the world of today’s media. There has been many thought’s concerning print media and the dilemmas that it is being faced with due to digital media and the forced choices that they are undergoing in order to “keep up” as to say. However, it’s easy to forget that print media has been around for many years and that well established print houses have a massive reader base.
It is agreed by many that digital media is more convenient as you can call upon it at any time and that news breaks faster online than it does on print, causing this to be the main reason as to why print may be dying. The fact that online publishers updates can be fast and in a matter of minutes makes digital media more tempting.
As I looked into the topic a bit more to see what all the fuss was about I found an organisation called Association of Online Publishers. This interested me as newspapers were joining in order to be a part of the digital world. This indicates to me that clearly Newspapers possibly fear being left behind if they don’t follow the crowd. Which made me think, if they themselves have trust in the print industry?
The shift in technology means that now the encouragement of digital media rather than print has increased and publishers are being encouraged to produce more digital media on the ground that it is more widely assessable to people with no limited amount of geographical circulation. However, I found that The Professional Publishers Association holds award for both print media and digital media proving that there is a relevance for both and they can work together creating a common platform rather than them having to rival one another.
Although it has been argued by many that print media does not have a long life span, I believe that it does and the fact that news people still prefer having a paper to read while having tea or sitting on the train means that print is not dying and as journalism is based on people the fact reamains that people sell people.
In a way this is mirroring what has been happening in the literary World; the rise in use of e-readers has certainly changed the game, with companies like Waterstones now being forced to embrace technology and make a deal with Amazon over Kindle http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/may/21/waterstones-kindle-amazon-deal
ReplyDeleteI will always buy books and would never buy an e-reader, as like many literature lovers, I actually love the way that books look on the shelf and the idea that an e-reader can house 3500 books on one small tablet does not appeal.
However, when it comes to newspapers if I displayed hundreds of old copies of them on my shelves people would think that was rather odd. People will always read the news and people will always look to journalists and broadcasters for the news, so readership is not the problem, impatience is; by the time the print version of a paper has come out in the morning a breaking news story could have been online for hours already. I think that the key for print journalism is more information, more features, more in depth, more quality
I definitely agree. Like you say, there is something lovely about the tangible glossiness or smell of a book or magazine which just doesn't apply to print newspapers. The only way to combat the quantity and speed of online from the print perspective is to work on depth and quality. At one extreme you have the horizontal, rapid-fire and broad ranging world of the bloggosphere and at the other end, the tightly focused world of long form news articles, written by respected journalists and academics. I think if anything readers are desperate for more of this analysis and discussion - just look at the soaring circulation figures for print titles like 'Private Eye' and 'The Week' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/16/private-eye-circulation-25-years).I just wonder how print newspapers can use this tactic while remaining credible and up to date news sources...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katy, that eReaders are changing the game, but I still think that there is still a place for print journalism (as well as hard copies of books etc.). Kate's figures above support this. There will always be a number of people who will prefer to read both journalism and literature in printed format and it will be a long time before this attitude dies out completely. The amount of debate on the issue is testament to the fact that it simply isn't as cut and dried as print being dead.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I actually agree with Ricky Gervais on this one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Rxkn_EKRA