News as a Product: Print Media’s Quest to Resurrection
In today’s context, it is apparent that the traditional news media have declined in readership and viewership because of the emergence of digital news media. Because of the continuous technological advancements, people have become adept at the digital progression in information, culture, and societal norms.
Traditional news media is defined to be “any form of mass communication available before the advent of digital media”. This comprises of television, radio, newspapers, books, and magazines. The method of traditional media’s news production is more complex than digital media. It goes through different steps that assure the accuracy and quality of the news story.
In traditional news production, it starts with the reporter then passed on to the editors, sub-editors, and chief editors, who check and assess the story before it could be published or broadcast. Unlike digital media, traditional also depends on the mechanical reproduction of their material for public consumption. After the distribution, the public can also react to the news. However, it would take much longer for the editorial board to see and respond to this.
Emergence of Digital Media
In digital news media, production is much less time-consuming. Given the fast-paced nature of digital news, they frequently rush to deliver information before other outlets beat them to it.
However, there is no control over news production in digital media. Everybody could be a news contributor and call themselves a journalist. Because of the increase of self-managed news blogs, the readers can be confused about which news outlet is credible or not.
Those who are familiar with navigating social media sites prefer reading news from digital outlets because of its convenience. News in digital form is also shorter than those published in the newspaper. This makes readers more attracted to subscribing to digital news, despite the risk of fake news.
Revival of the dying industry
Nevertheless, print media can still thrive in this age of convergence and technological advancement. Traditional media can urge the youth to read newspapers by following certain strategies. News outlets can create separate materials that still tackle current events but with elements that attract the youth. Reporters can also delve into topics that the mainstream press tends to set aside — beauty and health, local nightlife scene, and other pop culture topics.
Also, newspaper companies may also hire writers and reporters who are in the same age bracket as the target audience. Fifty-year-olds cannot write about teenage dating in the 21st century.
Most importantly, newspaper companies should be familiar with the youth’s quirks and preferences. Since the youth prefer to read bite-sized news; the editorial board can also adjust its style sheet to further accommodate the changing taste of its readers. Aside from news bites, the write-ups can be more conversational. Not too uptight in terms of writing for the younger generation. This can attract the readers into finishing the whole story because of the tone used to write it.
It is not yet over for the print media. It is a dying industry, yes, but if the editorial board could revamp the news production and meet the standards to satisfy the preferences of the younger generation, then it could eventually keep up with the reach of digital media.
