Print Media Has Not Lost To The Digital World Yet

It has been a couple days since I last put pen to paper (so to speak). But I want to talk to you guys about something that has been discussed for a few years now. That is, the total and utter destruction of print media as a direct result of digital media taking over. Well, I don't necessarily think that the digital media platform has or will destroy the print media anytime soon, but it has changed the landscape.

Back in the day almost everyone got their newspaper delivered to their doorstep or they would pick one up on the way in to work. Either way, people were buying newspapers. Magazines too, but let's keep our focus on the newspaper side of things for now. Most of the time when someone writes up a piece on this topic the article is chock full of statistics and numbers and all kinds of other mind-numbing ways to make their point. Although I could do that with the best of them, that is not what I am trying to accomplish. I don't want the reader to walk away from this post and say, "WTF was he talking about? All I could see were those damn numbers and I got lost!"

Think about it, we don't need a bunch of stats to show us what we already know. We are the generation that was raised on technology. We know where it's going and what it has replaced. Again, like I said, let's take a look at the news media. I live in a suburb of Chicago so I have two choices for newspapers. The Chicago Sun Times of the Chicago Tribune. I have favored the Tribune since I first got interested in reading newspapers many years ago. I think it was the colors. The Tribune used full color pictures alongside their articles while the Sun Times remained traditional and black and white.

I have not always been a subscriber though. I must admit that I skipped the subscription to the paper because I got my news from the Internet. Exactly what the print media is trying to fight. But it was easier to get and I could get more of it and faster too. A story could break and two minutes later it was on a website somewhere. Had I been solely reliant on the newspaper, I would have to wait for tomorrows edition to find out what had taken place. So of course, speed of reporting is an important factor is deciding where to get your news from and in this case, the Internet wins.

The newspaper.. it has a certain feeling about it. I cannot put my finger on it quite yet, but the writing could be it. The editorial pieces and the writing in the articles are smooth, easy to read, and usually follow a certain type of flow. Of course, I think that is due in large part to the editors that work with the writers. Something not all websites use. Having an editor I have found is often an advantage. They give you a way to work ideas through and to help keep a writer grounded when they might want to fly off the deep end with a rant because of some subjective bias. Editors do the newspaper a great service.

I have recently taken my Tribune subscription and switched it to a Digital Subscription. For me this is great. I get every day's paper on my tablet so I can read it without getting ink all over my fingers. Aside from the obvious advantages of having a digital subscription, here is the best advantage over a print copy. Any article that I might be reading gives me the ability to jump to a link that is connected to the story so that I can get more information. Or a link to email the author or someone else connected with the story. Let me give an example.

The other day I was reading a piece about the recent gun law legislation. As the article went on about the new laws there were references to past laws and lawmakers. I could have touched the screen of my tablet where the highlighted link was and without losing the article I was reading another window would open taking me to the information about the previous gun laws that the article referenced. This is extremely convenient. Consider how much work would have to have been done had I wanted to get the same information if I was reading a print copy?

The digital revolution has already taken place, but not everyone has grabbed the reigns and joined the ride. There is no need to completely lose all print media. It has its place in society still. You cannot put tablets on a table in a waiting room, magazines still work better there. But for the personal reader a laptop or a tablet is a perfect fit for magazines and newspapers. Why not? We have already given our books to technology.