Amolo emmanuel N
How are newspapers surviving in the digital age?
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| 2.1.3 How are newspapers surviving in the digital age?
We are often told that the newspaper industry as we know it is a dinosaur heading for the museum. Year-to-year, this assumption is reverberated, and yet with each passing minute, publishers unrelentingly churn out vital information their audience can use to make informed decisions, through the pages of newspapers. It is true that Paper costs, electricity, and other overhead expenses go up sharply each year but not readership, advertising revenue, nor circulation. The struggle is most keenly felt in places where technological advancement has raised the broadcast (TV and radio) and new media (internet) to reach more people, and thereby get the bigger share of advertising patronage. With the emergence of the internet, there are deviations in business practices and production between the traditional and new media. The instantaneous transmissions and updates of news on the internet underscore this transition. Amobi (2014) also identifies that consumers today are migrating from newspapers, and are embracing the radio, television and especially the internet. Also, with the turn of the century and an increase in literacy, people are consuming more information today than ever before; and they are impatient about getting it. Eileen Mangubat (2013) points out that audiences are also finding out more about news and trends at faster speed; through the Internet, on their mobile phones, tablets and iPads. This epoch is characterized by fewer people readily buying a newspaper, and young readers who did not grow up reading a paper skip this stage altogether. So what are newspaper publishers doing about this? While the mission of journalism remains the same – to inform, tell the truth, and influence society for the public good – the digital platforms have invariably provided publishers another avenue to reach teeming audience and remain relevant. Does this mean newspaper publishers must complement their production by creating an online replica? Does it imply that if publishers remain stuck in the traditional model of print only, they will surely head for a sunset? Would this spark the slow but ultimate demise of newspapers? Shen Echavia (2014) disagrees. She notes that with the lingering presence of poverty, there is always scarcity and inaccessibility to these digital-gadgets. Therefore in the absence of "the hi-tech", the periodicals and paper-based information will always thrive which apparently caters to the lower classes of people (and even the marginalized like in Nigeria). Speaking of convenience and monetary factor, people would always feel discouraged if their digital gadgets becomes outdated and requires an expensive upgrade. They would rather grab newspapers for being cheap, simple, and crude (Echavia, 2014). Kailings (2013) supports this argument, stating that taking into consideration that most elderly people do not know how to operate these digital devices, they might face difficulty in trying to obtain information. They may also have a traditional mindset that newspapers are the best source of information; hence it will be hard to learn something as unfamiliar as a digital newspaper. In the US, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette publisher, Walter Hussman, explains how his paper continues to be profitable with a simple formula where readers actually pay subscription fees to read the paper and companies actually pay money to advertise in the paper because studies have found that most people ignore online ads, which means newspapers can't charge very much for them. That's why the lion's share of revenue still comes from print. He noted that even in the age of digital media, most newspapers still get roughly 90 percent of their revenue from display adverts - the ones found in the printed version of the paper. Therefore it would be a wise decision for publishers with the wherewithal to embrace creating a digital avenue to address their younger tech-savvy audiences, but will also so well by carrying on with the traditional print forms for their more-grounded and inflexible older audience. As Amobi and McAdams (2014) notes, going online creates more opportunities for newspapers, such as competing with broadcast journalism in presenting breaking news in a timelier manner. The credibility and strong brand recognition of well-established newspapers and the close relationships they have with advertisers are also seen by many in the newspaper industry as strengthen their chances of survival. Download 261.2 Kb. Share with your friends:
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