In defence of print media

I’ve spent the past three years at university being told that print media is dying.

There’s a lot of evidence to support that statement, too. Social aggregate website SimplyZesty says that in 2009 newspaper circulation was down 30 percent. Add to that the numerous local newspaper and niche magazine outlets that have closed down over the past few years and the future looks pretty bleak.

More evidence can be seen at a local level – my own hometown newspaper, the Kettering Evening Telegraph, recently shortened its output from a daily to a weekly product.

Remember too that our lifestyles are changing rapidly. The concept of buying a daily newspaper now seems foreign to many of us, as increasingly large amounts of our lives are lived out online – including getting our daily news. I will admit to being part of that society, and I can’t remember the last time I bought a proper newspaper.

All is most certainly not lost, however. A study by Forbes suggests that the printed medium has some unique advantages over web text. Firstly, its tangibility. Whereas web articles and blogs can disappear from the reader’s mind within a few moments magazines and other printed products tend to stay around for a lot longer, often being read by more than one person.

Secondly, and this is important, studies have shown that articles in newspapers and magazines have a certain credibility to them that the internet lacks. That’s hardly surprising, since in an age where anyone can pick up a keyboard and start typing *cough* it’s difficult to find a writer who is credible. Magazine and newspaper articles therefore become elevated over digital text. For magazines especially that credibility becomes crucial, and it shows with readers.

And that’s the point – while I can’t remember the last time I bought a newspaper I can remember buying magazines, quite regularly. Being a petrol head you can imagine the titles I buy, and buy on a monthly or weekly basis. I choose to buy the printed versions because I want them to last, and like a lot of other car nuts I have a growing collection of my favourite mags. I’m not alone either, fellow motoring blogger Keith Jones is currently trying to shift his collection of Autosport Magazines, amassed, I suspect, over a lengthy subscription period.

That’s not to say that traditional magazines don’t need to change though. We’re already seeing evidence of this, and no doubt you will have noticed some of your own favourite titles bringing out extra online content, or introducing QR code links into their magazines. Some have already taken on delivering two products, one printed and one digital to be read on tablet devices or mobiles. I have no doubt that this will continue, and to a far greater extent than we’re seeing at the moment.

Yes, the future holds some interesting challenges for the printed medium and publishers are going to have to change to keep up with the times. Readers want a lot more from their products than they did even ten years ago, and it’s up to magazine producers to give them that. Is print dead? No, not in my opinion at least. Does it have to change though? Yes, and that’s the challenge for the future.

P.S – apologies if the above post seems a bit heavy. It’s off topic I know, but it’s something that I feel needs highlighting. Don’t worry, normal four-wheeled service will be resumed soon.