Based on my 30 years’ experience in the field of printing, press & distribution in the GCC, I thought it was the right time to pass some of it to the new generation so they can continue the development as per the progress of the new technology and trends in the field of Mass communication.
One of the most powerful media Print media (Newspapers, magazines and books) the main source of news and entertainment from long time till few years ago. But now, digital media such as Websites, Apps, FB, Instagram and Twitter, are giving a tough competition to Print media resulting in debates on whether print media is going to continue or not. So in order to find out the realty I collected some major points to define each of them and highlight the pros & cons.
Advantages of Print Media:
Print media is more trustworthy because once the news is published; it cannot be modified or deleted. So, those who run the newspapers and magazines will be extra careful while publishing the news or articles.
Following Print media can save a lot of time because all the content is compiled in a newspaper or magazine.
When we read newspapers, there will be no distractions and hence we can totally focus on it. This is an advantage of print media over digital media, which can distract us a lot with its various options and clickable advertisements.
Still, some remote areas in some countries have limited access to the internet. Print media is a blessing for them to know the latest happenings around the world.
Several online news websites are bringing their print versions to reach more consumers and to establish credibility. This makes us realize the importance of print media.
Till date, lots of old generations enjoy reading and feel the touch of the newspaper and spend joyful time reading it.
Disadvantages of Print Media:
Print media is not up to date news as they collect and write the news to be published next day and they have deadline for printing (usually 9 or 10 Pm) so any news later will be published the day after (2 days late).
Print media is just one-way communication. It gives information to the public, but consumers cannot share their opinions. Even though some newspapers publish readers’ mails, it is not user-friendly.
To search for articles on a piece of particular news in the newspapers or magazines archives is a very difficult task.
Print media cannot target a specific audience, whereas digital media can show different ads to a different type of audience and thereby can generate more revenue. Print media is not helpful for some people with disabilities, whereas digital media has accessibility options in general. For example, digital media helps people with visual impairment by providing audio versions of the content.
Advantages of Digital Media:
Digital media gives fast updates and enables us to be aware of the latest happenings, whereas with print media we have to wait till the next day. This makes it easy to spread important news among the public.
Digital media is two-way communication. Consumers can share their opinions, thoughts and feedback in an instant. This can also give consumers a sense of community.
It is Eco-friendly, whereas print media requires paper that is harvested from trees.
The famous newspapers are also establishing their own online news portals. This is because of the growing importance of digital media.
We can search for a piece of information easily in digital media.
Small companies can easily advertise on digital media platforms because it is less expensive than advertising on print media.
Digital media platforms can generate revenue from old contents too. So, they will get more revenue and hence can invest more in the quality of the content.
Smartphone users are increasing rapidly, and so many digital media platforms are offering content for free due to advertisements. So, people can easily read and watch content without spending much.
Disadvantages of Digital Media:
As anyone can easily generate content for digital media, fake news is on the rise. As a result, unless they are famous and have a good name, digital media platforms are not being trusted by the public.
Digital media platforms can track our interests and thereby can develop our personality profile.
Print media publishes only important news. But digital media platforms publish every little thing, so they contain lots of unnecessary news.
Many digital media publishes content throughout the day. So, people can check for new content always. Many people are getting addicted to news and entertainment content. This is causing ‘Headline stress disorder ‘for many.
In conclusion, print media is reduced heavily due to the increase of the printing cost and decrease of advertisements the mean source of revenue and I think within few years some countries will stop printing newspapers & magazines completely and the balance will maintain but with very reduced printing numbers and change to digital media platform in order to move forward and follow the ongoing International trend.