Online News - Research Paper Example

Online News Traditional print media played an essential role in the mass media and communication industry in early 1990s before the development of internet. This form of mass communication was very prominent in that time due to the many benefits it brought to the society. Traditional print media was mainly practiced with newspapers. The newspapers took many forms; such as the daily posts, weekly magazines and the monthly magazines. All these papers retailed at convenient prices that common citizens could afford without much struggle. The traditional print media was a reliable source of current news during those years due to their intense research in current issues that affect the society and have impact in the people’s lives. The daily newspapers were circulated on a daily basis and were very efficient and effective in covering all the news that happens the previous days. The news coverage by the print media played a big role in enlightening the society of the issues that happened around them (Nytimes.com). The traditional print media educated the people and society on emerging issues such as technology advancement, life skills and modern trends. The printed media such as the newspapers had various segments that educated people on these issues. Segments that highlighted facts about fashion and lifestyles enriched the society with new techniques and modern ways of grooming. There were segments that provided educative material that were very useful to students at all levels of education. They were an alternative source of cheap education material. The traditional print media provided a platform where companies could advertise their products and services. Since many people in the early 1990s depended on the print media as the only reliable source of communication, it was an effective means of advertisement. It reached many people and drove consumers to the consumption of these products and services. Companies got platforms to advertise their products in the best way possible. They had enough space to present the goods and services to customers expressing all the ideas and concepts that consumers were willing to know. The advertising of services and products from these companies so their sales revenue increasing over the years. Lastly, the traditional print media contributed to the use and success of the online news since it created the foundation in which the online news had just to build on to achieve success in the field of mass media and communication (Salwen, Garrison and Driscoll 82). With the discovery of the internet and its application to develop the online news, the traditional media such as radio and newspapers have seen a decline in their industries. Since the early 1990s, the performance of traditional media companies has greatly declined. They are no longer the talk of the town as they were in the past. Development of the online news system has contributed much towards this trend. The masses that used to rely on the traditional media systems no longer have their loyalties to the systems. Consumers now prefer online news to traditional benefits due to the many benefits that come along with them. The decline of customer loyalty from their long time benefits has seen the traditional media systems declining over the years. The intense competition from the online news systems have led to massive reduction in sales revenue of the traditional media such as newspapers due to clients opting for cheaper and reliable sources (Newspaper Death Watch). Companies have contributed much to accelerate the decline of traditional media. These companies no longer advertise their products and services in newspapers as frequent as they used to. They have changed using this form of advertising due to the change of traffic direction of customers towards the online news side. The companies were a major source of revenue for these traditional media such as the radio that airs their stations free. Decrease of advertising in the traditional media systems affected that industry since the revenues are decreasing at an alarming rate. Some of the companies that offer traditional media services such as newspaper companies and radio companies are facing serious financial problems. These problems force most of these companies to bankruptcy and therefore they are left with no option but to wind up. Due to the big and expensive machines associated with the setup of traditional media such as digital boosters for radio and big printers for newspapers, the traditional media sector has been forced to cut part of their operations or diverse into the online news systems which is much fairer in terms of costs. The transport media sector was one of the leading employers in the past few decades. Due to the problems it faces from stiff competition from other sources radio companies and newspaper companies have lain off majority of their workers. A recent study on the sector revealed that the sector is responsible for approximately a third of the total population of workers dismissed from employment in the past few years (Slate Magazine). Online news is the current trend in the market taking over the mass media and communication industry by a bang. The development of this type of news was as a result of technology, new business models, change of media use and new internet intermediaries. Some social factors such as the participation and increased mobility of online content facilitated this development to. The editors prefer online news to their traditional media counterparts due to the ease of producing news in these systems. Online news has an area of technology that enables the editors to produce the news content directly in different formats. Many people have turned to reading news online in today’s world. Research indicates that more than half of the worlds’ population relies on internet as their main source of news. Despite the low willingness to pay for online news by the society, the demand for online news is increasing. The online news has substituted many forms of news such as the television stations, radio stations and newspapers. Apart from substituting these forms of news, the online news complements these sources. Many offline newspapers readers have the tendency to compare the news they get from the newspapers and even radio stations and the news they get online (Boczkowski 29). In the modern world, the internet traffic has grown rapidly. More consumers are willing to get services from the online news on the internet. This source is more referred compared to other forms of news due to many reasons. First, this of news is cheaper than most of the other forms of news. Provided an individual has access to the internet, they have the opportunity to enjoy these services free. The service fee that users get to pay for internet provision is negligible as compared to the costs associated in buying of newspaper leafs and purchasing television channels. Second, the online news is more convenient and faster (Allan 56). Edition and uploading of online news takes place immediately the event to appear in the news occurs. This ability makes online news to be preferred by most news consumers since people have a tendency to want to be the first to know what is happening in the world around them. Many people depend on the news to make their strategic and sound decisions in their various fields; therefore, the faster they can access this news the better for them. Online news plays an essential role in advertising companies’ products and services. Many companies opt to use online news in their advertising due to the large internet traffic. Advertising through online news place their products and services on a good platform that facilitates their sale. Consumers also get opportunities to comment online on their feelings and experiences of these services and goods. They do this at the same time reviewing other consumers’ comments. This creates a strong connection between the consumers and the products and services offered. Apart from the development of the online news media, the fall of the traditional news media was caused by many reasons. First, the delay of giving news by this media was a common problem. The traditional news media had a tendency of delivering news to consumers late. Late news cause negative effects to people who use this news to make specific actions. The equipment and technology of traditional news media is outdated. Consumers of today’s news are attracted by flashy and modern technology so the use of outdated ones such as the airing of news in black and white would drive them away from using a source of news. Lastly, the shifting of advertising by firms from traditional news media to more technologically advanced systems is a major reason for the fall of these systems. The traditional news media companies heavily depended on the company’s revenue to finance their operations and make profits. Loss of this finance is suicidal to them (Meikle and Redden 77). It is a high time for the traditional news media to come up with solutions that can prevent their fall to remain in competion. Traditional news media needs to upgrade their technology and systems to be at par with their competitors. This will give them a chance to improve their performance and therefore attract their loyal fans back. Work Cited Allan, Stuart. Online News. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2006. Print. Boczkowski, Pablo J. Digitizing The News. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2004. Print. Meikle, Graham, and Guy Redden. News Online. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print. Newspaper Death Watch,. This ‘Funny Or Die’ Parody Totally Nails It. N.p., 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. Nytimes.com,. The Media Equation - Mourning Old Media’S Decline - Nytimes.Com. N.p., 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. Salwen, Michael Brian, Bruce Garrison, and Paul D Driscoll. Online News And The Public. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005. Print. Slate Magazine,. The Decline Of Newspapers Hits A Stunning Milestone. N.p., 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. Read More