Just recently I was thinking about the shift of web 1.0 to web 2.0 and how so many aspects of day to day life are evolving and moving onto the internet. It then got me thinking – are tangible items, such as newspapers still relevant in such an internet savvy world? I started doing a bit of research and found some interesting information.
Over the last 30 or so years, daily newspaper readership has declined. From this, we can make the assumption that because people are becoming more technological, we see people turning away from newspapers and looking to the internet for their daily news. This has raised several questions as to the relevance of newspapers and whether online media should be the main source of news. I believe that newspapers are still a necessary and relevant source of news, even though the rapid growth of the internet is causing the decline in readers of newspapers. However, there are those who believe that the internet will take over from print newspapers in years to come.
Many say that the most useful part of the media (newspapers) is slowly disappearing due to the emergence of online news (Schoenbach et al 2005, 245). So with the future of newspapers up in the air, should we just embrace the web and forget about them altogether? Research has shown that only one per cent of Australians rely on media forms such as the internet for news (Adams, 2006). Of those who do, readers have the ability to control and can pick whatever part of the news they want to read about. A print newspaper on the other hand widens the range of what a person is reading and gives them access to many different topics, events and issues (Schoenbach et al 2005, 245). But the question still remains, are print newspapers still relevant?
Extensive research has been carried out to determine the relevance of newspapers in the world of online and global media. It was found that 75 per cent of Australia’s population do not rely on and rarely access the Internet to find out the latest news (Adams, 2006). With this being said, the online editions are always generally the same news as what is in the print edition of the newspaper anyway. So why do we really need both?
To be continued.....
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I found this entry quite interesting and have a similar focus for my blog. You raise a good point that one reason for the decline in newspaper readership is a preference of some to use the internet to source information and stories. I think that aside from the convenience and 24/7 availability of news updates and bulletins online, people are turning to the web also for example, to find alternate and suppressed or ignored views , to find more interactive content and to view videos. Scepticism and distrust of newspapers and journalists is another issue, and I think a Roy Morgan survey found that a small percentage of readers (maybe 5-9%?) do not trust newspapers. While this is a small percentage, maybe newspapers that are online can regain the trust or at least attention of some readers by allowing readers to add their feedback and comments, to voice their opinions on the stories and also the coverage of the article, providing it is not censored! I think there is a need for newspapers to go online, they are criticised for merely pasting exactly the same content online that has been printet, but if they did not have a site at all or archives for news articles they would be criticised too. Either way they lose. For the future, maybe news companies should find more ways to incorporate user content such as blogs, videos etc. Even further down the track, perhaps they will incorporate produsage if credibility of content can be maintained and even find ways to create more personalised and unique content to put online to appeal to consumers who want what they want, when they want it, without the “junk” they are not interested in.
Hi Elyse,
You have written a thought provoking blog entry.
You say "People are turning away from the newspaper and looking at the internet for daily news" yes this is true and I have found similar statements connected to studies elsewhere. There has been a shift away from traditional news sources.
You also say that "I believe that newspapers are still a necessary and relevant source of news"
So why do we need both?
Perhaps we need both online and physical news sources to satisfy the different types of people within our population. For example a 60 year old may find it easier to read a newspaper than use the internet. An office worker may find it easier to access the newspaper online, whilst a tradesperson may choose to read a newspaper on smoko break.
Some people may enjoy the smell, the feel and the experience of reading the Sunday newspaper. Now let’s face it reading the news online just is not the same as physically sitting down with The Melbourne Age spread across the deck on a Sunday morning.
Having to go looking for the news on the internet for someone who is not internet or computer literate may be difficult. Plus staring at a bright screen for hours may not appeal to some.
Being a uni student myself I read both types of news, but when it comes to enjoyment I would rather sit down with the newspaper any day than sort through the very distracting virtual internet world. I believe that print journalism is not dead; and does need to exist in conjunction with virtual news mediums.
What do you think?
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