Monday, July 2, 2012

The Decline Of Printed News

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There is a predictable and growing decline in the demand for and sales of printed newspapers. Expect this trend to continue and steepen as it specifically applies to printed news, but not necessary to be as severe or as rapid by any means when it comes to printed glossy magazines and printed books.

While this may be environmentally and ecologically desirable (i.e., we can stop destroying forests, and wasting all of that ink -- plus, we can eliminate a tonnage of litter), that is not the force driving the trend. This trend is being driven by the abundance, amongst consumers, of reading devices (Nook, Kindle, and the like), the preponderance of email hosting media daily news offerings (Yahoo! News, AOL News, Google News, etc.) as well as by the printed daily newspapers' failure to compete, in terms of news reporting timeliness or speed and reliability of consumer delivery. Readers can get the freshest news by simply going to

The article extract which follows was furnished by the API (Associated Press International) SmartBrief email newsletter. After you've glanced through it, please return to this page and I'll tell you a bit more about what the implications of this phenomenon are:

Newspaper data are expected to reveal decline, digital dimension
Audit Bureau of Circulations data are expected to show a drop of about 5% in daily newspaper subscriptions and a 1% decline in Sunday subscriptions between September and March compared with the same period the year before. Complicating the report, however, will be information for paid digital and other options that reflects different ways of counting and varied sales strategies among papers, Poynter Institute researcher Rick Edmonds writes. Poynter.org/Biz Blog

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It is important to separate printed news from printed glossy magazines -- particularly those which cater to technical hobbyists, the very wealthy and the "art lovers" of all stripes. These media are still able to capture a significant share of ad revenue (most recently skewed toward branding and promotion than for direct display advertising while at the same time having "coffee table appeal." Whether they are being accumulated by collectors, hobbyists, lovers of art, nouveau riche want-to-be's, or persons who simply prefer a nice, thick magazine instead of a table placemat or beverage coaster, these creatures have a much longer useful life (less news reporting than 'news rag dailies' -- but much more commentary, editorial and opinion, and a preponderance of  spiritual, religious and politically-themed or travelogue  pieces).

The critical negative determinant for print newspapers (excluding magazines, as discussed briefly above) is that they simply cannot be printed and distributed as quickly or as conveniently (i.e., in user-friendly interactive formatting) as their digital counterparts. And news which is stale is at worst, garbage, and at best, history.

Ecology and other "green factors" will keep working against printed newspapers as will their ungainly shape and lack of ease of portability.

My bet is with electronic (virtual) media. My bet is against daily newspapers. My bet is that lower scale "tabloid-oriented magazines will begin to evaporate as more and more of the shopping population (their cash register impulse readership) becomes computer literate, and as trips to supermarkets are reduced due to increasing e-commerce convenience and fuel conservation. Conversely, the higher-end magazines will be with us for years to come, in a specially carved and rarefied niche by themselves.

Douglas E. Castle for The Global Futurist Blog,
The Mad Marketing Tactics Blog, The Sending Signals Blog and The InfoSphere Business Alerts And Intelligence Blog.

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Thank you, as always!   



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