How often does this (sitting down to read a newspaper and drink a cup of coffee) actually happen anymore? I still consider myself a spring chicken. However, the Internet was still nonexistent during my childhood. I am absolutely not digital-phobic. However, I still love holding a book in my hand and smelling it (don't judge) as opposed to a Kindle. I love going to the bookstore with my frappuccino and reading a magazine off the shelf. I love holding my Bible and seeing all of my notes and being able to add new ones and highlight. I still love seeing my grandmother sit in her recliner with her drink and a newspaper and working the crossword puzzle out of it. She loves discussing the news, and especially politics. My dad loves his iPad, but he still holds and reads the printed newspaper every day. The
truth is that newspapers are drastically cutting their employment and
many are now only distributing their newspaper half the time. Another thing of the past was talking on the landline home phone. Now many people do not even use cell phones to talk and discuss issues. They text and use social media platforms. I have always enjoyed hearing the inflection and emotion in the voices of the people with whom I am talking. I especially love to see their face and expressions. A true laugh out loud moment is a million times better than seeing 
on a screen.
With the Internet and digital media becoming such powerhouses, where does this leave traditional media and newspapers? Dr. Padgett, our professor for this class, brought up an interesting point. If newspapers are becoming extinct, why are billionaires such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, John Henry (commodities investor), Rupert Murdock, and Warren Buffett buying newspapers? "Smart people don't become billionaires by investing in wrong things" (Padgett, 2014). Newspapers in smaller markets have less competition for audience and advertisers and have a more established clientele to maintain growth. A strength for many newspapers is they are keeping up with the digital curve. They are offering their newspapers online and linking with other credible companies to provide the up-to-date news coverage that this asset-light, time deprived, immediate gratification seeking generation needs. Many digital news consumers consider traditional news media outlets such as newspapers and television stations more trustworthy and comprehensive, whereas Web sources are more convenient and accessible. The key is for credible news organizations to align themselves with "new media" that ensures the reliability of the information and reporting. Online commentaries, many times, provide unoriginal information that do a disservice to those needing enough information to make well-informed decisions regarding politics, local laws, community duties, etc. In 2013, the Pew Research Center concluded that only 14% of people they surveyed could answer four basic questions regarding current events.
This generation tends to gravitate towards what catches their attention first. Jacek Utko is a designer that has helped his local newspapers to reinvent themselves and greatly increase subscription numbers. He says, "
newspapers are dying because readers don't want to pay for yesterday's news, advertisements follow them, and our laptops and tablets are much more handy". His idea is to "treat the whole newspaper as one composition, like music. Music has a rhythm of ups and downs, and designers are responsible for this experience. Design can change your workflow and branding. It can completely change your company and change you". Although many in the N-generation (cyber teens) are looking to be entertained, they can still be well informed. Newspapers do not have to be all black and white and boring. Google's chief economist, Hal Varian, believes that digitally distributing news for publishers will be tremendously beneficial if they "can also radically redefine their product and means of reaching consumers". This is where strategic communicators need to understand the pertinence of a strategic plan to minimize costs while still reaching the goal of the message and how it is disseminated to its stakeholders and clientele. We need to be a strategic link in the puzzle that brings back the type of quality of journalism that holds those in power and government officials accountable and is able to provide investigative information that is accurate, while meeting the digital needs of today's society and increasing profits for newspaper organizations.
Utko says, "We just need vision, inspiration, and determination no matter the circumstances". Let's discuss the vision of the aforementioned billionaire, Jeff Bezos. Although Amazon lost money for nine years, Bezos continues to "prioritize long-term investment over near-term profit. That's how great, enduring companies are created or transformed-by building a strong infrastructure, products, brand, and deep relationships with customers. By contrast, too many news companies have been paralyzed by the tyranny of short-term horizons. Implicit in the mastery of the long-tail strategy (providing products and services not only for the big sellers but the smaller ones and consumers with unique interests) is the idea that a big company can serve each customer with precision, in part by deploying sophisticated data analytics and in part by using technology to efficiently deliver good service to small numbers of people". Again let's consider what we have discussed and Bezos purchasing the Washington Post. What is his vision? The world is now the relevant market for Internet companies and "becoming the world's leading news outlet covering policy and politics, not only in Washington but in capitals around the world, and covering more topics more deeply". I would surmise that one aspect that inspires him is raising the standard of the quality of journalism being disseminated. His determination speaks for itself.
The landscape for newspapers and how we obtain our information is obviously going to continue to change. For the newspaper organizations with the vision and inspiration to reach their unique audiences with quality news coverage while not stalling on the digital highway, I
believe their future is bright. It will be very exciting to see traditional media form a healthy relationship with digital media and where it takes us in our learning capabilities.
For my readers, I am excited you are continuing my journey with me as I near the end of my Master of Science in Strategic Communications degree program. This class in Strategic Communication and Emerging Media is going to be impelling, and I look forward to navigating it with you. I will be posting weekly blogs pertaining to our class readings and videos.
Thanks, Dr. Padgett, for sharing the above comic!
To "baby boomers" such as myself, there will always be a desire to open a newspaper, double fold the crossword page and smile as we do not see ourselves on page 3C, the obituaries. We have increasingly accepted, even embraced, electronic media. I see people limiting themselves more by their media sources than by the media type they enjoy. Diverse sources offer the most complete fact reporting. I also enjoy folding down the corner of the last page I read as I close my book for the night.
ReplyDeleteMe, too! I love what you said about people limiting themselves more by their media sources than by the media type they enjoy. So many people believe what they read on the Internet is factual. They don't know better and usually do not take time to properly research it. You will see in my new post that there is definitely enough information out there to research! Thanks for posting!
DeleteMichelle, those were indeed the “good ‘ole days.” Sitting down to read the newspaper and drink a cup of coffee (or in my case, hot tea). The stillness of the morning, looking over the recent events (that we didn’t know about yet because we had not seen tweets, or facebook posts, or any other kind of social media updates) and in some ways, it almost feels like we were more innocent then. We did not have the constant barrage of all the evil and pain going on in the world.
ReplyDeleteYet the world is what it is today. My husband used to call me a “crackberry” because I always had my blackberry with me; since we switched several years ago to the iPhone world he hasn’t quite come up with a similar moniker. But we are attached to them. I teach classes in an online environment, and so students expect me to be available 24/7. The worst part is that we are totally incapacitated when our power goes out – I cannot access my classes, I cannot access the library, I cannot do research – it is truly a feeling that is almost suffocating.
But a part of me also yearns for that innocence of years past. Like you, I still love going into the library or a bookstore and walking through the stacks to find a book that somehow was never discovered when I did a catalog search. To just hold the book in my hands and read through it. The kindle and the iPad are great for convenience when traveling, but when I’m at home, I much prefer to have the real thing in my hands.
These technological innovations have indeed had consequences. People are losing their jobs. Every year we keep getting a phone directory left on our doorstep (albeit smaller and smaller each year) and every year, it simply goes into recycling (after I check it for coupons, of course). I probably should not be so quick to dismiss it; I just might find the handyman or repair person I was looking for (after vetting them on Angie’s List, of course).
Will we be able to continue sitting on the deck and reading the paper in the morning? Only time will tell. The sad thing is, that not only is the newspaper going by the wayside because of digital innovations, but because we simply are just too busy anymore. I cannot take an hour to relax through the paper in the morning; I must jump online right away and check out all my emails that have come in since I’m in the Pacific time zone and most everyone has already been up for two to three hours. I have to check my social media to make sure I haven’t fallen behind. Things have been changing so rapidly that it is hard to tell what kind of discussion we might be having if we were taking this class a year from now.
At this moment I am certainly thankful for this online environment; otherwise I would not be enjoying this blog right now :)
Best to you in class and wherever life takes you,
Tammy
Tammy, The speed of communication is indeed stifling. Your example of the power outage is suffocating. This is a viable and important example of a massive disadvantage to the digital world. One of my concerns is that face-to-face communication, family time, and sitting down for a great frappucino and newspaper will become more and more extinct. I believe it will get to the point where the curve begins reverting back and there is a rebirth of interaction outside of the digital world. Thanks for your insight, Tammy!
ReplyDelete