The decline of newspapers in the digital age

¶ … Letter of transmittal

Newspapers are connected to society as a result of the several centuries during which they dominated the news transfer environment. However, the recent decades have demonstrated that matters are critical for the newspaper industry as a result of the more effective devices that emerged along with the evolution of technology. This paper is meant to discuss the downfall of newspapers and the reasons for which people have turned their attention toward more efficient media devices.

In order for readers to get a better understanding of the circumstances leading to the collapse of the newspaper industry, I gathered information regarding reasons why people came to appreciate particular media devices more than traditional news providers. Mechanism such as the telegraph and broadcast have presented people interested in amassing information with alternative and more efficient means of getting their news. Even though they did not have a severe effect on the newspaper industry, they managed to demonstrate that newspapers were actually outdated. The twentieth century had an influential effect on people's opinion in regard to newspapers. Partly as a result of environmentalists and partly because of the beginning of the digital era, newspaper enthusiasts gradually turned their attention toward more efficient methods of transmitting information. They realized that it was possible for them to access information more rapidly and that they could stay updated with practically everything that happened around the world as long as they could use the internet. Not only is the internet more efficient in circulating news, as it is also better at providing people with an environment meant to assist them sale or buy objects. Even when considering matrimonial-related matters, the internet allows individuals to interact on a more personal level and to have access to more information regarding the person that they socialize with.

Preface

Newspapers have experienced a notable downfall in the recent decades and the twenty-first century has made it clear that the digital era is likely to be the main cause influencing people in abandoning one of society's most significant means of information. Newspapers have traditionally provided individuals with a daily or weekly news distribution cycle, having them familiar with almost everything significant that happened. In contrast, digital news devices provide people with a constant flow of news that is presently nearing real-time reporting. The masses want to have access to a permanent flow of news and this is impossible as long as they continue to use newspapers. Newspapers normally get their information from wire services, photographers, independent writers, and diverse organizations. This makes it difficult for them to keep up with an increased need in information, as they practically have to work constantly in order to satisfy the needs of their customers. Even with this, it is very improbable that they will ever be able to satisfy their clients, especially considering that newspapers can only present a limited amount of information. Web publishers have access to more content and can collaborate with a practically countless number of third-party individuals.

Digital news devices provide readers with the chance to interact with news and to actually contribute to writing it. Moreover, users can express their opinion regarding particular topics, thus making it easier for them to understand information or to raise the publisher's awareness concerning a certain mistake that they have made. However, this also makes it more difficult for publishers to keep up with the high number of individuals interested in connecting with their news providers.

Newspapers are slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past and there are numerous concepts that someone could use in order to condemn their existence. The fact that they require paper, that they are unable to sustain a constant information flow, and that they cost more money are just some of the reasons for which someone might be hesitant about searching for information in newspapers.

Body

1.0 Effective journalism has traditionally been fueled by a publisher's interest in making profits and his or her determination to be socially responsible. The investor community is starting to express increasing concern regarding the future of newspapers in a society dominated by digital devices.

1.0.1 The importance of newspapers is believed to depend on the influence that they have on readers, with news and information being less significant. Newspapers apparently have two types of influence: "societal influence, which is not for sale, and commercial influence, which is for sale. But the two are closely related because it is the societal influence that gives value to the commercial influence" (Meyer).

1.0.2 News is seen as more important when it is reaches the reader through effective means, so as for him or her to spend little time and money getting the information he or she wants. Similarly, readers will feel that it is essential for them to get their information from a reliable source. Thus, they will focus on using sources that proved to be dependable in their previous attempts to read news. The graph below is meant to show the relationship between some of the most important factors influencing readers to use a particular media device. The "Circulation" and "Profitability" factors are probably among the most important, as they provide digital media readers with the opportunity to get information more rapidly and virtually for free.

2.0 The telegraph -- one of the first devices that emphasized the hopelessness of newspapers. "James Gordon Bennett, founder and editor of the New York Herald, declared in 1850 that "newspapers -- the circulators of intelligence merely -- must submit to destiny, and go out of existence" because of the overwhelming success and adoption of the telegraph as a means of delivering the news" (Martin and Copeland 2003, vii). Bennett was among the first individuals to acknowledge the fact that newspapers were no longer efficient because information traveled much more rapidly through the telegraph.

3.0 The twentieth century presented the world with innovative methods of transmitting information and further contributed to discrediting the image of newspapers. Most individuals involved in the media generally accepted the fact that newspapers were no longer an effective means of transmitting information in the late twentieth century.

3.0.1 People in the 80s and 90s concluded that newspapers had no future in a rapidly evolving world. One of their main flaws was represented by the material used in producing them. Society started to understand that it was responsible for damaging the environment and a rise in environmentalists made it difficult for certain industries to continue their practices. The newspaper industry was one of them, considering that large forests were cut every year in order to satisfy an increasing need in information. Ethics no longer allowed individuals to ignore the damage provoked by the newspaper industry and thus people were presented with yet another harmful effect of the enterprise.

4.0 The decline of the newspaper industry is accompanied by ascension of the digital media, this supporting the belief that many people in the contemporary society prefer to get their information from mediums that are constantly updated and that require less effort to be read.

4.0.1 Observing that they have to keep up with the evolution of news, many newspaper companies have focused on maintaining their name in the news industry through redistributing their operations with paper and printing toward digital settings and platforms.

4.0.2 The commercial aspect of newspapers is especially important when considering their ability to stay strong in the news industry. However, as people discovered the increased effectiveness of buying things through the internet, newspapers experienced a significant decline in sales. Mediums such as Ebay or Craiglist have made it possible for sellers and buyers to interact more effectively and to be able to get a better understanding of what they were selling/buying. The graph below provides information regarding the evolution of newspapers ads in comparison with the evolution of Craiglist revenue. Although newspapers continue to dominate the industry, their severe decline in sales in the recent years emphasizes the fact that newspapers are likely to disappear in the future.

Works cited:

Carlson, Nicholas and Angelova Kamelia, "Newspaper Billions Become Craigslist Millions," Retrieved October 11, 2011, from the Business Insider Website: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2009-06-12/tech/29979663_1_rocket-ship-inbox-revenues

Martin Shannon E. And Copeland, David A. eds., The Function of Newspapers in Society: A Global Perspective (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003).

Martin, Shannon E. And Hansen, Kathleen A. Newspapers of Record in a Digital Age: From Hot Type to Hot Link (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998).

"Preserving news in the digital environment: mapping the newspaper industry in transition," Retrieved October 11, 2011, from the Center for Research Libraries Website: http://www.crl.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/pages/LCreport_final.pdf

"Societal Influence Model for the Newspaper Industry," Retrieved October 11, 2011, from the Nieman Reports Website: http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=101358