How Digital Media is Taking Over Print Journalism in 140 Characters

The technological boom of the past decade has restructured the foundation of how American society communicates. In particular, the machine of mass media has evolved from that of printed copy distributed weekly across the nation to a digitized, online platform where information can be searched, shared, and saved within the click of a button. This new age renaissance has forced traditional media companies to re-evaluate long-held concepts of lucrative business practices and amend them to align with a tech-savvy generation.

The New York Times, one of the most well-established print publications and one that has survived the arrival of the technological coming, has experienced the side effects of maintaining an outdated medium, “And therein lies a problem that has no easy solution: how to fully transform for the digital future when the business model – and the DNA of the newsroom – is so tied to the printed newspaper” (Sullivan).  This is the primary anchor to the progression of print publication: the linear model of communication between the writer and the reader is no longer the norm and has been replaced by a multi-dimensional network of two-way interactions (Abramson, 39). Moreover, digital media is now regarded as the only way forward, due to its emphasis on storytelling as a catalyst for conversation and the accessibility it provides to not only media professionals, but everyday individuals as well (Coleman, 488).

Figure 1. Print-to-digital magazine reader turnover.

Nevertheless, the Times has still managed to keep up with the ever-changing climate of content creation through establishing a digital platform as a supplement to their print publication. This method of convergence is the safety net that traditional media requires in order to stay relevant in a digital-oriented world (Marchese, 434). Merging written word with an online platform also allows for a stronger connection between audience and content through means of interactive storytelling. In order for linear-based media (i.e. newspapers, magazines, books, etc.) to remain afloat in a content-saturated market, companies must remember the fundamental principle of media: connectivity (Mamber, 121). Reading articles online and catching up on breaking news through the web has become the standard for accessing information because of its simplicity. The immediacy of the Internet and the fluidity between search and receive means that people stay more connected with world around them and the people that inhabit it (Emmott, 78). As long as publications like The New York Times and TIME are able to keep people connected, then the future of print publication remains alive.

Works Cited:

1. Abramson, Jill. “Sustaining Quality Journalism.” Daedalus 2 (2010): 39-44. Web.
2. Coleman, E. Gabriella. “Ethnographic Approaches to Digital Media.” Annual Review of Anthropology 39 (2010): 487-505. Web.
3. Emmott, Bill, and Kramer Gina. “INTERVIEW: All That’s Fit to Print: Journalism in a Globalized World.”Harvard International Review 2 (2001): 76-79. Web.
4. Mamber, Stephen. “Teaching Digital Media.” Cinema Journal 3 (1997): 117-22. Web.
5. Marchese, Suzanne M., and Marchese Francis T. “Digital Media and Ephemeralness: Art, Artist, and Viewer.” Leonardo 5 (1995): 433-35. Web.
6. Sullivan, Megan. “A Paper Boat Navigating a Digital Sea.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 June 2014. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.