Do Newspapers Have a Future - Essay Example

?Running Head: Future of Newspapers Future of Newspapers [Institute’s Future of Newspapers The use and availability of information technology has been a continuing danger to the future of newspapers. Moreover, there are also a number of other conditional and environmental factors which have affected their success. While newspapers were the only means of getting information about the world in previous times, today there are a number of other sources that provide this information with a lot more convenience and entertainment. Thus, many people especially the youth are losing interest in the habit of reading news stories from something that they call a “drab” source of information. Newspapers have some problems inherent within them that can possibly be the cause of their decline in popularity (Gawenda, 2008). First of all, most newspapers are in black and white which provide a drab and boring source of information. Readers prefer a more illustrious and colorful source, which can provide them with vivid pictures of the occurring events. Moreover, the print in newspapers is usually of such a small size, that it is difficult and uncomfortable for readers to easily read it. Unfortunately, newspapers do not have a zoom in option. It is also very difficult to handle newspapers because of their size and to flip through them. Often the pages and sections all fall out and get mixed up while a person skims through the newspaper. Some newspapers are also available in color, however, the quality of the paper and the photographs is still of low quality which may not be as attractive to the reader. Readers usually prefer glossy photographs printed on laser paper which gives the reader a more exciting and clearer experience of reading the news (Vivian, 2008). However, the problems are not only limited to the design and texture of newspapers. Problems may also exist in the content of newspapers. Most newspapers tell the story the way it is and provide an unbiased opinion. Hence, readers only read the facts and do not get a dose of what is called “extra spicy” news. The small articles printed in newspapers do provide essential information regarding everyday happenings in the world, yet sometimes they do not provide a vivid description or full information regarding the event and only stick to the general and most basic facts. In addition, newspapers contain many sections which include the business section, classified ads, and many others (Conboy & Steel, 2008). Some of the articles and the information may be irrelevant to the reader’s interest and the reader may only be interested in the entertainment section, front page, and classified ads. Hence, he/she finds it inconvenient to purchase the full newspaper for this purpose. Newspapers are also available for a price, which the reader may not find worth the trouble of purchasing one. Another issue regarding newspaper journalism is that many people have lost their trust with the information contained in newspapers, as sometimes it proves to be inaccurate or exaggerated. Hence, some people have stopped reading or relying on the news altogether (Tottam, 1999). Despite the many problems or shortcomings with newspapers, newspapers do hold some advantage over other sources of information. While the newspaper having numerous sections can be a disadvantage for those preferring to only read one or two sections, it is an advantage for those requiring a mass of various information within the same source. Not many other sources contain the news, classified ads showing house vacancies, job openings, and even matrimonial advertisements (Gawenda, 2008). Moreover, they are a cheap source of advertisement and public announcements on the part of individuals. For example, often when purchasing land, individuals post a small notice in the local newspaper to arouse the attention of any person who may have a dispute regarding the land. Such ease and access may not be available with other sources of information. Another aspect which we must be considerate of is that newspapers do hold a great amount of importance in the lives of our older generation. Senior citizens often begin their day with a newspaper as they are not accustomed to using laptops and the internet. They are not familiar with new technology and prefer reading a newspaper as they did in their time. Additionally, newspapers are easily portable and can be carried with a person to any destination. While laptops and other gadgets are also portable, they are more expensive to purchase and considerably heavier than a newspaper (Tottam, 1999). However, is must be admitted that newspapers are losing their popularity to a large extent, especially amongst the younger generation. They are so many more alternatives to seeking worldwide information and journalism has changed and expanded in so many other ways in the 21st century. Some of the alternatives that are preferred in this age are magazines, blogs, YouTube, social networking sites, cell phones, World Wide Web, television news, news programs and talk shows, etc. Journalism has changed in the 21st century and the first small change can be the launch of magazines. Magazines are printed on high quality paper and contain vivid and clear images along with highly opinionated and revealing articles (Gawenda, 2008). This can also be termed as “gossip news” which is highly attractive to today’s generation. There are magazines available on all topics such as Business Week, Times magazine, beauty, health, home decor, entertainment, and other magazines. Readers can choose the topic that best suits their needs and they get a wide variety of ample information on that particular topic. Some magazines such as Newsweek also cover the latest news stories and events and provide an inside glance and full information on the most interesting world stories. Moreover, magazines contain a spicy touch to their articles in which the journalist also expresses his/her own views regarding the situation and analyzes the situation according to different perspectives (Vivian, 2008). However, journalism has moved on even further into different genres and different angles. Another alternative to newspapers is television. There are so many news channels nowadays, which display news stories about worldwide events showing exclusive footage of the events happening live or hidden footage which has never been seen before on television. These news channels offer an illustrious source of information and showing live events enables viewers to catch the news as it happens (Conboy & Steel, 2008). The Internet is a wide source of information upon which people can access thousands of articles regarding any topic and gather any information that they need with the click of a mouse. It is a source to thousands of online magazines, articles, videos, etc. Another popular source of information on the internet is YouTube, which is an online site featuring thousands of videos from any topic you can imagine. Viewers can view live footage or recorded events at their leisure. Moreover, they have the option of easily sharing these videos and information as well as commenting on them. In this way, viewers are easily able to exchange views and opinions regarding a certain topic instantly (Vivian, 2008). Another popular source for the exchange of information is blogs. Blogs are online forums which provide the basis for a topic under discussion and all blog users comment and add to the discussion. In this manner, news and views are exchanged and information is imparted throughout to everyone who reads the blog (Mitchell, 2011). Besides, another way that journalism has changed over time is that people do not only want to hear the news, but want to form opinions regarding it. Hence, there is a certain trend of making news events spicy and interesting by adding a discussion to them. Many journalists have begun their own talk shows or news shows so to speak, such as Larry King Live, on which they invite different guests regarding the latest issue and take a one-on-one account from them of the exact happenings and added information that cannot be expressed in a written account. Cell phones also provide ample information regarding currency rates, timings of shows, news updates, match scores, as they happen. People have information surrounding them in all aspects (Hanson, 2011). Furthermore, people today prefer a full account and a virtual experience of stories and news events (Zhen, 2011). While watching them live with audio and video on television, they are able to experience the exhilaration, the tragedy, the happiness, or whatever emotion the news story may entail. Newspapers lack this virtual experience and lack the information which allows the reader to form a specific opinion. Upon interviewing different members of the public, along with the opinions mentioned above, they also expressed the views that they often did not find the time to read newspapers and found them to be inconvenient. They preferred quicker sources of information such as television, cell phone news updates, and the Internet. Moreover, they said that newspapers lacked the experience that other news sources could provide to them (Mitchell, 2011). However, many members of the public agreed that newspapers were an essential source of advertisement and public announcements such as job openings, matrimonial ads, selling and purchasing items, and notices for lost people, etc. Since newspapers are printed daily, they update the public on a daily basis, while magazines are usually printed weekly or monthly and are not easily accessible or appropriate for posting such notices. Television is a very expensive option and is also not an appropriate medium for such small public notices. Newspapers are an essential forum for small community communication. Moreover, newspapers are the adequate source of information for our older generations, who are not accustomed to the new techniques of information technology (Rogers, 2011). Newspapers do contain some essential features which despite the advancement of information technology, can only be dispersed via newspapers. In addition, since the new advancements are still relatively new, we still have some surviving generations which are not accustomed to them. Hence, newspapers still do have a demand in the market (Rogers, 2011; Mitchell, 2011; Hanson, 2011). Accordingly, newspapers can be expected to survive to some extent for another 15 years, until our older generations either become accustomed to the new technological innovations or until they die out and the new “ information technology” era takes over completely ( Gawinda, 2008). Making newspapers involves the cutting down of trees and the use of essential natural resources, which may be considered a waste. However, for the time being newspapers must be saved so they can provide an essential forum for the exchange of community information (Oblijiofor & Green, 2001). One might be able to find other options to post such community notices and impart such essential information throughout communities via technology. Yet, technology is still considered expensive for some and not all people can afford the use of television or have access to the Internet and other facilities. While the use of these innovations and others increases, newspapers may very well die out. This may be feasible for the environment as it will save essential resources. However, until then, we must promote the existence of newspapers (Patil, 2011). References Conboy, M. & Steel. J. (2008). “The Future of Newspapers.” Journalism Studies. Volume 9, Issue 5, pp. 650-661. Gawenda, M. (2008). Do newspapers have a future? And how long is that future? University of Melbourne Press. Hanson, L. (2011). Primary Source. [Interviewed on August 20, 2011]. Mitchell, P. (2011). Primary Source. [Interviewed on August 26, 2011}. Oblijiofor, L. & Green, K. (2001). “New Technologies and the Future of Newspapers.” Asia Pacific Media Educator. Volume1, Issue 11, pp. 88-99. Patil, P. (2011). Primary Source. [Interviewed on August 21.2011]. Rogers, J. (2011). Primary Source. [Interviewed on August 20, 2011]. Tottam, G. (1999). “Future of Newspapers; Survival or Extinction?” Amic Annual Conference. Vivian, J. (2008). “The media of Mass Communication.” American Communication Journal. Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 10-20. Zhen, Y. (2011). Primary Source. [Interviewed on August 22, 2011]. Read More