People citing the reason why they don't want to read a physical newspaper is that they can get the same content online for free and whenever they want and more up to date. Newspapers are scrambling to change themselves to make themselves more attractive then there online counterparts, example being our own NZ Herald who are finding some success because there print numbers are going up.
Also its not just the internets fault that newspapers are declining. There are many other little factors that contribute to its decline. Television is also a contributing factor, with cable networks starting there own news shows presenting the news in a different way. Cost of delivery and productions have risen because of rising fuel costs and lower demands make producing the paper more expensive then when they first started producing. Also there target market is aging and dying, people who read the paper are old. The younger generation have found there own way of getting news while the old are being stubborn and are sticking with traditional methods.
But the problem with online news is that sites are finding it hard to make money from them. Ads don't generate enough revenue online to be sustainable. Ads in print generate more cash because of the it doesn't rely on hits instead companies just pay up-front in a set amount, it's just more consistent. Until they can find a way to make money from online sites, newspapers are not likely to die soon. Instead they have the opportunity now to re-invent themselves to make themselves more relevant to todays generation.
Sources
I personally think that it is good that the older generations still read the newspaper. This world is becoming to reliant on technology and I don't agree with that. Although the internet is convenient and is constantly at our finger tips, I think its important that we make an effort to go out and do things such as buying the newspaper and support our local economy.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminds me of one of the articles that Melanie posted on line for Social Science called "Is Google making us stupid?" by Nicholas Carr.
The writer explains how his attention span is just not the same anymore due to the internet. People are so used to getting information off the internet and absorbing it quickly and "bouncing" from page to page, not often returning to the previous one, that they are struggling to read long pieces of writing. We expect the information to already be filtered with the most important bits made obvious and not have to do it ourselves as we would reading a book or an article.
I think that this article is worth a read and relates to this article (in my opinion) how the world is becoming too reliant on technology.
Sarah Allen
I agree with Sarahs comment on this. This post reminded me of the lecture we had on the digital natives and immigrants. How the generations of today have grown up with all the technology and internet, and dont know any other time. I found a UK article talking about how 'Google generation who spend life in front of screens are losing creativity and skills', by John Stevens.
ReplyDeleteHe talks about how children spend so much time in front of computer screens to get their information, or research and to socialise even that they are losing the ability to make things with their own hands! He also mentions that children would become 'brain-dead' if they ended up fully dependent on the internet, as they are not able to do things the old fashion way.
I think it is important for children and new generations to keep reading the newspaper or using the library from time to time, because it is unhealthy to be glued to a computer, or even reliant on google/internet for everything you need. It does have the potential to take away creative skills, and it is killing certain business like music, magazines, books, newspapers and more down the line.
Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2253170/Inventor-warns-Google-generation-spend-life-screens-losing-creativity-skills.html
-TESS PYKE