Print
media is declining. It has been for years. I miss it.
Please
don’t get me wrong. I love the Internet. It enables me and others to access such
a massive quantity of information and other resources that it’s almost unimaginable.
If you’d told me about such a thing when I was in elementary school
during the 1960s and 1970s, I’d have said it was impossible.
Things
have changed. Indeed, I’m actually planning to post this article online.
A
blog on the website Strikingly[1] is one of many online
sources that compare print and digital media. An EBSCO article[2] is one of many that
discuss the decline in newspapers.
I
guess what I’d really love is for the entire Internet to be instantly available
as a printed page. The Internet does offer more information than the print
media ever did.
Newspapers
It’s
faster and easier for me to read a print newspaper than to scroll through its
pages online, even with the high-speed Internet at the public library or on my
cell phone.
However,
I confess that I cancelled my subscription to my local Lexington, Kentucky, Herald-Leader
newspaper many years ago when it was still printed daily. I chose instead to
read the print version at the library. The price had gone up, quality seemed to
have declined, and my budget was limited.
In
the years since, the newspaper first eliminated Saturday printed editions, then
switched to only printing three days a week. The online version is available
daily, is more comprehensive than the print version ever was, and can be read free
online at the library. But it’s not the same. Turning those pages online takes
precious time.
Magazines
Many print magazines
are ceasing publication, reducing publication frequency, or going online only. However, I’m happy to report
that I still receive a few printed magazines.
These include Reader’s Digest
and Guideposts. But both magazines are now published six times a year,
instead of every month as they were when I was a boy. Furthermore, those
monthly issues of Reader’s Digest during my childhood contained over 200
pages each. The magazine now contains fewer than 150 pages per issue.
Both
publications feature Internet sites with more information, but I hope and trust
that their best stuff makes it into the printed copies. I seldom visit their
websites.
Books
While
I love being able to read breaking news stories online, I dislike ebooks. I
cherish my personal library of printed books, some of which are pictured below. I am blessed with many more than those pictured. I
enjoy checking others out of the public library.
So
far I haven’t found an online reference source that I like as much as my printed
copy of The World Almanac and Book of Facts. It’s the best one-volume
reference work I’ve found. I prefer it to buying the online version now available.
I own a copy of each annual almanac from 1975 when I was in high school to the 2026 version I
received via Amazon in December.
I got each book new except for one that I
bought used later. I was experiencing financial difficulties that year.
That makes 52 issues
if you’re counting. In addition I also bought a used copy of one earlier issue published when I was a baby, making 53 total.
I may be wrong, but I’m confident that those annual almanacs contain a lot of information that can’t even be found on a Google Search.
Internet
Trend Toward Paid Subscriptions
The
Internet did spoil me over the years by providing free online access to a huge
array of news sources. Alas, the online mainstream media now depends more on
subscription income and less on advertising.
I can no longer read unlimited news articles
free from the BBC, Reuters, CNN, Daily Mail, etc., etc. So far, I haven’t purchased a paid subscription to any of them.
I depend more on websites such as the Associated Press and local television
station news sites that remain free so far.
I understand the fees. As
a writer, I feel those who research, report, edit, and publish news deserve to
be paid. It’s understandable that fees be instituted. I may even indulge in
some paid online subscriptions at some point.
However, I'm hopeful that as Internet news website fees increase, the disparity in cost between producing online articles and print articles will decrease, leading to a resurgence for print media.
But that may be an unrealistic view. Paper and ink (or toner) cost money, as do delivery of printed copies. Electronic media production and transmission costs are cheaper.
Closing
Thoughts
As
a writer I do appreciate that an online article can be written, edited, and
published easier, cheaper, and faster than doing so via a print magazine or newspaper.
As
a reader I love the wealth of information available from local, national, and
international sources online, including translations of materials originally written in other
languages into English. Google Translate is great.
But
printing and posting a copy of an online article on a bulletin board doesn’t seem
the same as doing the same with scissors from a local newspaper. That’s true even
if it is an article from a credible source. Yes, I do still have bulletin boards
in my apartment.
If the Internet ever collapses due to server overloads, a computer virus, massive electrical outages, etc., those poking fun at those of us "dinosaurs" who keep books may respect us more.
Even now, I trust reputable news organizations, such as major newspapers and magazines that maintain print versions,
more than Internet social media or television news sources that seem to focus more on
entertainment and sensationalism than mainstream newspapers traditionally did, though newspapers are changing.
Well-researched, well-written online articles
can be just as credible as those in a major newspaper. But I think it’s
especially important to be careful about sources online.
I
optimistically think that over the long term we’ll get much of the best of both
worlds. Internet information will flourish. Meanwhile, I believe (and hope)
that hard copies of books will always be preferable to online versions for
reference purposes.
After
all, it’s easier to read a century old book (or even a century old newspaper article) at a
library than to access an online book or article from last year on a website
that has shut down. And I won’t get into trying to access an old article stored on a floppy disk.
Yes, let's enjoy the Internet. However, let's never seek to rely solely on it for information.
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