As more moves online, less stays in print. Over the past several years, traditional forms of media have been struggling to maintain the kind of effectiveness they once had.
Newspaper readership recently hit a low-and it’s no wonder. With so many people retrieving their news online, the demand for print newspapers has waned.
Here, check it out for yourself:
This annual report on American Journalism only confirms the decline of several forms of media: State of the News Media.
One of my bosses works closely with members of the media. She often jokes that a call or visit from her ensures that particular journalist will lose their job. The sad thing is that it isn’t a joke at all. You could place a call to a reporter on Tuesday-by Thursday, that reporter’s been canned and someone else is covering their beat. Journalists are struggling to keep their jobs and those that have been fortunate enough to continue working have taken on additional assignments.
So if newspaper readership continues to decline, where does that leave us? Will we be saying goodbye to print newspapers?
Probably not. As technology changes, traditional forms of media are forced to evolve or risk extinction. Newspapers aren’t going away, they are simply changing. Print versions are thinner, but more content is appearing online.
Despite all of this, one can’t deny individual preferences. Although most print newspaper readers are above the age of 65, many people find it difficult to read long articles off a computer monitor. Others find it easier to find the type of articles they are looking for in a print version rather than online.
My personal prediction for the future is a print/online hybrid. Perhaps print readership will continue to decline and online readership will continue to climb. The future of print newspapers could serve to cover larger stories or provide easy access to daily items such as stocks. Online versions could cover the same information, but serve to encompass the smaller, more local stories that can’t be included in print.
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Currently listening to: “You Don’t Know Me” by Ben Folds (Way to Normal, 2008)
