I just finished reading an article in Fortune magazine, discussing whether the Ipad and other tablets will kill newspapers and magazines or be their savior. The article focuses more on the newspaper industry than magazines, I think because newspapers are dying faster and seem to be floundering and lost more than their counterparts in the glossy world. There is also discussion and comment throughout as to the future of print as a whole – books magazines, etc. Now I am as big an Apple fan as the next guy, and I am excited to get an Ipad, once it has the built in internet access beyond WIFI hotspots, but I also am an avid reader who doesn’t see print disappearing. While I love technology and the apps and all it cal do to make life easier, there are time I want to read something in print, you know, ink on paper. Especially when it is long. There are comments about how newspaper and magazine articles are too long, and not transferable to a web world (that’s why it is called a web BROWSER). I agree. When I find a longer article online I print it to read on paper. In general it is easier for people to read black txt on white paper than it is an electronic screen. Granted, on the screen you can make the text larger if you are sight challenged, but computer screens are still 72 dpi or 96 dpi, in general is 150 dpi to 300 dpi (dots per inch). This has to do with the resolution, which means print is clearer, sharper, etc. I also like making notes in articles, when it is for work, or business, and ink on paper is an easier route to go for that kind of thing.
The problem is not the medium, but in how it is delivered, sold, and managed. There was a pull out from the Publisher of the Washington Post, talking about all the creative strategies they were exploring to transition to the digital world. The sad part, it’s all crap. Newspapers say they want to do business online, they say they want to transition, but not really. They are not willing to jump to the next curve, only extend there limited boundaries along the edges. I worked in the newspaper industry for almost 14 years, from very small to very large, and what they say and what they mean are two different things.
What they say: “we are exploring creative strategies to transition to the digital world”
What they mean: “we are exploring creative strategies to transition to the digital world, but we are only willing to consider ideas to expand our business on the web that will not significantly affect out traditional print revenues”
Good luck with that. This is why they will fail, and be replaced by a company that can explore strategies for delivering news and content, but does not have to worry about sacrificing print revenues. Newspapers are GREEDY. They only want more revenue from digital to add to their declining print revenue. If they could think outside the tiny little box they live in, they might see that a new model of predominantly digital with print might generate more revenue than their strategy of grasping tightly to every print dollar they earn while 15 years later they still wonder how to really make money on the web. So newspapers will continue their sad decline, until they are replaced, yet, I think in this new regime there will be a place for print. It might be sorted and collected digitally, written, laid out, presented digitally, delivered digitally, and then received by people like me, who will print out the articles I wish to read, and one night a week or so I soak in a hot bath with an ice cold beer, the only room in the house where I am not interrupted, and enjoy reading print in peace and quiet.