Transition from Print Media to New Media Essay Example for Free

Transition from Print Media to New Media Essay New media has emerged from the print media. But its target audience is different from that of print media. Today, we have young readers getting attracted towards new media. This is because they feel that they really don’t need to waste their time reading when they could easily see or watch whatever they want to with audio and video, now a days the younger generation has gained a presence for it due to advances in technology and just reading a book for â€Å"fun† has started to become something of the past. The first news websites were launched by media houses around 1986. But, as you have already studied, these web editions were simply replicas of the respective print editions. The function of these websites was nothing more than generating awareness about the existence of these media houses. The actual transition in India happened after 1996 when several independent media houses tried to bring out a news website. But after 2000, most of the independent media organizations along with their websites closed down. That was the time when the phenomenon of convergence became popular. Convergence means the coming together of different forms of mass media. Ever since the first murmurs of electronic media, print media has always felt an undue threat, first from the radio and then from television. And now the Internet is seemingly up against the vast and widely spread print media. When the radio came in the early 1930s, everybody felt that newspapers would become obsolete. When television came in the 1950s, people and even experts felt that nobody would get the time for or feel the attraction of the written word. But everyone was wrong. Each media has managed to create its own time and space across cultures and around the world. However, the print media too, be it the newspapers or books, has been able to hold its own. Consider this – the circulation figures of major newspapers around the world have only increased over the years; publishers too come up with a deluge of books and new magazine titles pop up from nowhere every day. Alternatively, there are thousands of TV channels, even more radio stations, and the infinite Internet. In this deluge of information, where every media is fighting for attention, who wins? Nobody actually. Thanks to the distinct features, the ease of use and the reach of every media, they all have managed to create a specific target audience or readership for themselves. There is a little bit of appeal for everyone in every media. Information, knowledge, entertainment, fun, and serious business – all these things can be found in every media now. Now it is only left to the audience to choose what suits them. There lies the competition, which nobody has won yet. And nobody might ever win it completely ever. It’s true we are bombarded by images and sounds from various electronic media, which has shortened our attention spans. This quick deluge of information suits many of us who are hard pressed for time and because of this very few people get the time to read. Everyone wants content in a flash. The Internet has proved to be the most effective media here, where knowledge is literally at your fingertips. You type in what you want, and you get the results in milliseconds – in whatever form you want. There are now online editions of most standard newspapers. This is also the reason you have ebooks now. But how many people have access to the Internet? 10 percent of the population in India and just 8 percent over the world. Where do the rest of the 90 percent go? They turn to newspapers, the TV or radio. But, it is only a matter of time till the fast-spreading Internet is accessible to the rest of the people and a majority will look to it for most of their needs. So in such a scenario, is it just the print media that is dying? Is it not TV and radio too? Although, it is the print media which seems endangered, it is a fact that the success of any media tells upon another media. It is only a tug of war going among these, where the centre gets oscillated between the ends. Each has been devising ways to deal with the plus points of the other. TV is getting interactive, radio is getting gripping, newspapers and books are trying to get more attractive with the incorporation of visuals and graphics and interactivity to some extent, and all of them together are going online. Adaptability is crucial for existence. The bottom-line is if the print media continues to adapt to the changing media habits of people and corner its target readers well, it will survive. And it ought to do that for its good. Somehow, there is a feeling that even if it fails in that, the power of the written word will always be supreme. So while traditional media’s old channels – print and broadcast – are floundering, their online properties are thriving. In fact, I’d argue that the influence of traditional media outlets like theNew York Times and CNN are greater than ever. The internet and social networking sites have given traditional media outlets an audience beyond their once limited geographies. For example, take the Boston Globe. By all rights the Boston Globe’s circulation is in free fall. New England’s largest daily newspapers once bragged about a circulation of more than 700,000 and now finds itself below 300,000. There is little doubt that the print product for the Boston Globe is heading to obsolescence. But look at its other â€Å"new† delivery channels: * Boston.com receives an average of 4.2 million unique views per month in 2010. More than 5.500 other sites link to its content * The Boston Globe has more than a dozen Twitter channels – from books and movies to the Bruins and local news – that is followed by tens of thousands of people * The Boston Globe Facebook page has more than 6,500 people liking it The Boston Globe is also providing video and audio content. It even has a free smart phone application. Their audience is actually greater now than it has ever been. These new channels will continue to grow. So while traditional outlets are still struggling to fully monetize these new channels – they have jumped into online and social channels in a big way. People are getting their news on different channels (and in different formats), but they are still relying on traditional media outlets to deliver it to them. Traditional media – new and old alike – are reinventing journalism and news delivery. Don’t forget that. Media outlets still pack an enormous audience and have an even greater ability to influence people – from what books to read to what products to buy. Media relations isn’t dying – it’s just moving online and onto social networks. The media industry has always adapted to meet the changing needs of advertisers and to incorporate new technologies into their service and product offerings. Over the last two decades this industry has changed at a breakneck pace that is no longer a series of adjustments but a wholesale evolution of the industry. New media have entered the arena while others have been forced to evolve to avoid becoming obsolete. These changes have been driven by advancements in technology, consumer media usage and the almighty dollar. Perhaps no media has been more challenged by these changes than print. While print media has been the hardest hit, talk of its extinction is premature and ignores the fact that it has and continues to play a significant role in consumer marketing. Print media is here to stay but its form and role will never be the same again. Like all media forms, print has evolved over time and has been undergoing a period of considerable change that began prior to the recent recession. Newspaper ad revenues have been experiencing significant decline since 2001 while penetration has been declining in many key segments since the early 1970’s (see chart). This decline has been less pronounced with readers age 55+. As more tech-savvy baby boomers reach retirement, the decline seen in younger segments will likely be matched by the older segments. In order to combat the decline in all age groups, print media has diversified their offerings and taken steps to acquire new readers while cutting costs. Nearly all newspaper and magazine publishers have added complementary websites to their offering. In an effort to attract younger readers major publishers such as the Tribune and Sun-Times Media Group launched free circulation newspapers geared towards their target audience. Magazines such as Road Track and Sports Illustrated have provided unsolicited free 6 month subscriptions followed by a renewal subscription contact strategy thereby providing a free trail. In an effort to cut costs, some publications have abandoned long standing formats. On February 8th 2010 the Chicago Tribune trimmed its traditional broadsheet format to reduce costs and changed their editorial ratio as part of their bankruptcy agreement. As print revenues continue to decline profits are improving and should it be determined that these acquisition efforts and format changes played a key role, it is likely that other publications around the country will follow. Online advertising has benefited from regular techn ological advances and has become a mainstream advertising medium now representing 12% of total ad spending compared to 34.6% for print. [1] The explosive growth of online advertising has tapered off and for the first time experienced negative growth in the first quarter of 2009. Internet advertising spend grew 37.5% between 2005 and 2008 while print declined 29.9% over the same period.[2] However, the decline of print has not been made up by growth in online advertising. Changes in the media industry have impacted the two primary components of print media in different ways. For a long time, newspapers enjoyed the highest penetration levels of any media. This began to change with the introduction of television and its increased usage. Over the past two decades this evolution has been most impacted by a culture that thrives in convenience and demands their information in â€Å"real-time†. These have never been the strengths of print but proclamations that print is dead ignore prints strengths. These strengths have begun to show their worth as online advertising has failed to carry the same perceived value that even the wounded print industry maintains to this day. The very nature of the internet makes it impossible to completely replace print media. Print retains characteristics not replicable through vehicles: browsability, credibility, tangibility, size, inserts, ad impact, ad content, and usability. Print will have to redefine its niche, purpose and approach, but it has been a proven vehicle for marketing communication and the differentiating strengths it retains will help it survive. The internet has only partially succeeded at supplanting print as a news source. Journalism has been supplanted, in part, by blogs, and independent sources that lack both the clout and professional reputation of long standing institution such as the Wall Street Journal. Advertisers also have a vested interest in seeing print survive. The ability to reach large numbers of baby boomers and older consumers, with their considerable spending power through a tangible vehicle, will help support print through this transition period. There is no doubt media is undergoing a metamorphosis. For print, this future is unclear but the overall demise of print media is grossly exaggerated. Print is undoubtedly undergoing a significant change, one that will redefine its niche and better position it for the future. Media has always adapted to the needs and desires of its consumers and advertisers and this change is no different. Only time will tell the fate of print, but that fate is far from decided.