Print_Based_Media

Explore the current and likely future role of print-based media in mass communications “A GOOD newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself,”-Arthur Miller in 1961 In order to analyse and have a viewpoint on the topic we first must understand what print-based media consists of. ‘Print based media is the industry associated with the printing and distribution of news through newspapers and magazines’. The advances in Internet and information technology in the last ten years have brought a structural change to the means information is aggregated, processed, and then circulated. Most people of the older age bracket prefer to get their information the old-fashioned way i.e., from newspapers and magazines. The younger age bracket, on the other hand, prefer to rely on online sources for their information requirements. There is an indisputable discomfort that as the older generation moves on, the old media will also progressively evaporate. The increase of the new media has put the old (print) media organizations on the defensive. The new is not displacing the old, however; to a certain extent, it is transforming the old by forcing it to recognize precision, responsiveness and efficiency. Throughout the course of this essay I will look at the history of print based media, where and how it started. I will then look at the current role of print based media in our society and we will conclude with the future role of print based media in mass communications. The print media started around 1440 when Johann Guttenberg of Germany invented the printing press an invention that would become one of the most important to human life. Before the printing press arrived, books were written by hand and substantial time was required to create a single copy. Print based media such as newspapers, pamphlets, and books were previously the yardstick of wealth and economic power. The first official newspaper published in English was the London Gazette of 1666. It later went on to pave the way for future newspapers. The current digital media outburst represents the next stage in the development of publishing and it adds vast storage, retrieval and distribution possibilities to the production of printed word. The Internet has empowered the user of information to also be converted into a producer and distributor, the cycle is endless and virtually uncontrollable. This has resulted in the elimination of barriers to media entry, the rise of distributed journalism, and the flood of reporting and related activities. In our society today, print based media are faced with more competition then ever before, and this competition is beginning to take its toll on the world of print based media. Of all the old print based media, newspapers have the most to lose from the internet and digital media. Circulation numbers have continued to fall in America, Western Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand for decades, as industry figures released show a 7% drop in 2009 compared with the previous year, while another recent analysis showed that newspaper Web site audiences had increased 10.5% in the first quarter of 2009. People worldwide are switching from print based to digital media, the statistics prove that. The print based media industry still currently has millions of customers, so there does remain some hope. In a recent study carried out by Deloitte, some 73% of consumers say they prefer reading print magazines even though they know they can find the same information on the Internet. Some of these people also questioned the reliability of the information available of the information available on the internet. People are reluctant to acknowledge some information available on the internet, due to the large number of bogus sites and spam’s that can be found online. Print Publishers believe that print has some very realistic advantages over screen-based media. These are the advantages that they must constantly promote and focus on if they want to remain afloat in the current climate. These old forms of media deliver something that the digital era cant; The user does not need to be in range of any sort of wireless network in order to open a newspaper or magazine, and to some of the older generation it is less hassle and less confusion to sit back and open the paper rather then to connect to a wireless network. Battery life, battery life is not an issue as it would be for all mobile internet users, in order to read the paper you are not confined to a predetermined battery life span, or proximity to a power supply for rechargeable purposes. Paper is remarkably robust in IT jargon. Drop a newspaper or magazine on the floor and it will not shatter, as opposed to laptops, mobile phones, I-pods ect. Paper does not catch viruses or suddenly crash, leaving the viewer staring at a blank screen, unable to obtain the necessary information required. It is still easier to read long articles on paper than it is on screen. The experience of obtaining news on your PDA isn’t as good as it is on paper, so travellers will, on the whole, prefer a paper-based product to an electronic version while they’re on the train, bus, tube or plane. Although as the size of mobile laptops get smaller, lighter and more efficient, more pressure will be put on print based media. In recent times some tests suggest that focusing on a computer screen, using mobile phones, listening to I-pods can all have negative effects on ones personal health, be it hearing, eyesight, or radiation problems. None of which can be experienced from print based media. There are millions of jobs at stake worldwide, print based media has a production line, comprising of editors, graphic designers, journalists, printers, shop keepers, delivery men, all of which could potentially be out of employment if digital based media erodes all of print based medias market share. Jobs are already disappearing. According to the Newspaper Association of America, the number of people employed in the industry fell by 18% between 1990 and 2004. Over the last decade we haven’t seen publishers of print based media sit back and accept the likely change from print to digital. They are not prepared to watch sales drift away; they are instead launching new titles, targeting new markets, in an effort to ensure high levels of market penetration. It is going to be a hard fought out struggle, with recent surveys showing new trends; British people between the ages of 15 and 24 say they spend almost 30% less time reading national newspapers once they started using the internet. It is not only the readers; Advertising is following readers out of the door. The rush is almost unseemly, largely because the internet is a seductive intermediate that supposedly matches buyers with sellers and proves to advertisers that their capital is well spent. Classified ads, in particular, are quickly shifting online. These ads have been previously labelled as the “industry’s rivers of gold—but “Sometimes rivers dry up.”-Rubert Murdoch. Although the pressure exists, Newspapers have not yet started to shut down in large numbers, but it is only a matter of time. Over the next few decades half the rich world's general papers may fold. Plummeting shares of listed newspaper firms have prompted fury from investors. In 2005 a group of shareholders in Knight Ridder, the owner of several big American dailies, got the firm to sell its papers and thus end a 114-year history. This year Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, attacked the New York Times Company, the most august journalistic institution of all, because its share price had fallen by nearly half in four years. Having ignored reality for years, newspapers are at last doing something. In order to cut costs, they are already spending less on journalism. Many are also trying to be a magnet for younger readers by changing the mix of their stories towards entertainment, lifestyle and subjects that may seem more relevant to people's daily lives than international affairs and politics are. They are trying to create new businesses on- and offline. And they are investing in free daily papers, which do not use up any of their meagre editorial income on uncovering political corruption or corporate fraud. So far, this fit of activity looks unlikely to save many of them. Even if it does, it bodes ill for the public role of the Fourth Estate. So what does the future hold in store for print based media, Along with the challenges it faces against digital media, it is also struggling to fight off the recession. One of the reasons for the death of so many print media is the recession. When the economy is in a desperate state, advertisers shy away from massive advertising campaigns, which mean less money for print advertising as well. On the back of that the future looks bleak for print media; they are facing an up hill battle and almost impossible battle against technology. As each day passes there are more people opting to use digital media, there are new forms of print based media being converted to online databases. In my opinion it’s hard too see a future for print based media to the extent that it is today but I do believe a market will always prevail for print. The way in which the world is developing, people demand fast, efficient and quality information instantly, all of this can be achieved with the click of a button at present and it years to come one can only imagine the alternatives available. As the print based media industry begins to slow up, it will be faced by many challenges diminishing ad revenue and reduction in reader numbers to name a few. In my opinion I feel there will always be a market for print based media, no matter how efficient, fast, and reliable, there will always be some people that will prefer to have the paper, be it a newspaper, magazine or book in front of them as opposed to reading from a screen. Whether this demand is great enough to keep the major national print based media giants alive I don’t know. If not we are likely to see more localized papers, directed and based around local communities and towns. These will be the future for print based media worldwide. One thing that I view very importantly is the use of books for education purposes. If schools globally begin to turn to digital resources for teaching I think it could mark the end for print based media. We learn to read and write through the use of books, if this turns to laptops and other digital aids, it will promote a more digital reliant era of information. In conclusion print based media paved the way for information to be exchanged, recorded and delivered worldwide. It is impossible to end that, the world in which we are surrounded will always have print based media involved in communication, whether or not it is the major and predominant means of communication, only time will tell. It is impossible to predict the future, but one thing is for certain, the future of mass communications will be leaning toward the digital media rather then that of print based media. I am going to end my essay with a quote from Larry Killman of the World Association of Newspapers; he believes that newspapers are "far from dead. I think there is no doubt that growth in electronic media is the future, but there is still a future for print. Over the years newspapers have been pretty resilient; they managed to ride out the challenge from radio and toughed it out with TV, there is no reason why they can’t compete with the internet. 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