New Paper Publishing on the Verge of Extinction - Essay Example

New Paper Publishing on the Verge of Extinction Introduction The rapid growth in modern technology has posed a challenge to the traditional media like the newspaper. In most cases, the increased use and of the internet through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has been heavily relied on to inform me on any breaking news, therefore replacing the use of newspapers. It is worth noting that the new media has also affected the means through which newspaper circulate breaking news. Research records that since the late 1990s, approximately 90% of daily newspapers have used online technologies to search for articles. In that sense, most of them also tend to create their own news websites to reach new markets (Garrison, 2011). In some countries, the effect of the new technology on traditional media is still controllable. Different citizens in some countries e.g. the third world countries prefer to receive their news through the print newspaper. However, analysts have the opinion that such people should opt for online digital newspaper as well as considering the opportunity to increase their advertising revenue. The Internet as a Global New Medium The dawn of the internet era since the late 1990s has resulted to many people been on the receiving end through the reliance on platforms like Twitter and Facebook to get news. It is worth noting that a threat to the newspaper warrants an important adjustment to media hegemony theories. Studies have it clear that mass media news outlets struggle to change gate-keeping standards because of demands for interactive content produced by audience themselves. In other words, the long term picture of newspaper information, which is not interactive, is not easy to foresee it’s near future. It is a well known fact that a newspaper only gives an audience a platform to take what is written. This comes without necessary providing a platform for criticism, inquiries and even comments one a one-on-one scenario as the one provided by the internet, which people have a propensity to feel that it is more in touch with them (Mahmud, 2009). In events where the newspaper is state owned or is a mainstream medium, it is likely to be extremely centralized and as a result, requires important investment and resources. In other words, this can be heavily influenced by government through various mechanisms and forms of control. On the contrary, the digital media is radically dissimilar in terms of its characteristics. In its implications, the new media that is; the internet can be used for both “points to mass communications as well as point to point and mass to point message distribution (Kirchhoff, 2009)”. They tend to be tremendously de-centralized and require very low investment. For instance, a blogger only requires having a computer and an internet connections and one is able to get the breaking news while in the house and without necessary moving out to collect the newspaper. As a result it provides greater interactivity and public participation, and is much more difficult to fall prey to control. Reflecting on the above understanding, one can deduce that critics choose the new media over the newspaper due to its benefits. In most countries, the new media which comprise of the television, the radio and the internet has gain popularity and acceptance because of the need to have free information flow. This has been given the first priority since the mainstream media that is, the newspaper is perceived to be controlled by the government. In that sense, it does not provide secretive information concerning government matters, unlike other platforms such as Twitter. The nature of the internet has made it possible for online newspaper to be in operation as it is easy to join (Mahmud, S. (2009). A case study on the country of Malaysia reveals intense changes in the media context over the past few decades. Beginning with a controlled media environment where the print media worked under an annual licensing scheme and broadcasting media were state-controlled. Malaysia witnessed a process of deregulation and liberation of the media landscape since the early 1980s. Today, the Malaysian media continues to see some form of control over the mainstream media through licensing of the print media. In addition, there is a range of commercial radio, TV stations and satellite TV that are in operation. Challenges Facing Conventional Media Most observers believe that the challenges facing conventional media, particularly the newspaper has to do with the fact that there is a storm of the economic crisis. Such storm is believed to be dwindling readership and advertising dollars, and not forgetting the inability of newspaper to monetize their online efforts. In the west and particularly in the U.S, newspapers have lost the lion’s share of the top secret advertisement to the internet. It is a common believe that the entire situation worsened when the depressed economy forced more readers to cancel their newspaper subscription. What is more, the whole scenario got worse when business firms were forced to cut their advertising budget as part of the overall cost cutting measures. As a result, bankruptcy, job cuts, salary cuts and worse cases involving closure of newspapers. This has made some representatives of the U.S newspaper industry seek some sort of bail-out from the government. This is through giving permission to the U.S. newspapers to recoup taxes they paid on profits earlier this decade to help offset some of their current losses. This is what they put forward to the Joint Committee of Congress (The Star Online, September 2009). Accusations are being hurled at search engines giants by publishers, who categorically accuse Google and Yahoo of “stealing” the contents of newspapers. An allegation came from media mogul Rupert Murdoch in early April 2009. "Should we be allowing Google to steal all our copyrights?" asked the News Corp. Chief (Kirchhoff, 2009). Major giants in the newspaper industry continue to point fingers at Google claiming that it is now powerful that the media tycoons themselves believe that it is forcing the newspaper industry out of business. Conclusion Newspapers in non-western nations have a dissimilar experience from the U.S counterpart. Readership is yet to drop to a drastic level, while advertisers still regard it as the medium of choice. The internet might have caused a shift in the newspaper market but due to its very low percentage as a form of media in such countries, the newspaper still enjoys a large share of the market. The Internet is still grappling with privacy issues, content accuracy, reliability, and other related concerns and, according to some observers. All these predict trouble for online news in future. However this will only be for a short time before the story changes. The globalization and some degree of development in technology and industrialization in those countries shall see the internet become a dominant media as it currently is in the western countries. Newspapers should also consider exploring free circulation, as many are doing, which make them purely advertising based. This will attract younger readers who are not used to paying for newspapers and have thus been moving to free or less expensive, more advertising-based circulations. References Barthelemy, S., M. Bethell, T. Christiansen, A. Jarsvall & K. Koinis. 2011. “The Future of Print Media.” Capstone Report. Retrieved 9 December, 2011. Bennett, W. L. (2003). “New Media Power: The Internet and Global Activism.” Pp. 17-37. Creeber, G. & R. Martin. (2009. Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media. Berkshire, England: McGraw-Hill. Kirchhoff, S.M.(2009). The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition: A Congressional Research Service. Mahmud, S. (2009). “Is the newspaper industry at death's door?” Retrieved from: www.mysinchew.com/node/24415?tid=14. Straits Times. 22 October, 2008. Read More