Affect of Internet on Print Media - Essay Example

? Effect of Internet on Print Media of the Institute Appears Here Appears Here Table of Contents 3 Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Conclusion 10 References 12 Abstract The emergence of internet along with availability of free digital content associated with it affected the demand for print media. It has long been an area of interest for all stakeholders associated with content creation about the effect of internet on the demand for print media. There have been observable impacts on magazines and newspapers and related print media after free digital content became widespread. One can expect that free digital content would eventually cannibalize entire sales of print media. Introduction Print media refers to all means of dissemination of written information, which includes newspapers, periodical publications and books. Print media has evolved into new forms of newer forms in recent years like free newspapers and targeted magazines for specific population groups. Print media is generally perceived to have receded in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century. The phenomena of diffusion of the press is taking place at a rapid pace while distribution of newspapers and magazines is decreased by 2% in 2003 (Dijkstra, Buijtels and Raaij, 2008). According to some estimates, the reduction in print media is around ten percent over a ten year period (Dijkstra, Buijtels and Raaij, 2008). Internet is referred to as a worldwide system of computer networks which is based on the use of routing of data and information in electronic form. Internet forms a global information space and is the physical basis for the World Wide Web and many other systems for data transfer. At the present time the internet is fastest growing medium and it is used in everyday life. By 2008 the number of users who regularly use the Internet reached to around 1.5 billion people – about a quarter of the world's population (Baigi, 2011). Along with computers connected to it, the Internet provides the basis for the development of information society. It is frequently hypnotized that emergence of internet and growth of internet technologies is causing a continuous decline in consumption of print media. Rationale for this supposition is asserted as the ease of access of online medium and low cost. The paper evaluates the hypothesis about the presumed replacement effect on print media of internet. Discussion The issue of the impact of internet on traditional print media has been investigated by researchers in certain disciplines. Various facets of internet vs. print media are analyzed. Internet vs. Printed News Levmor and Craven (2011) evaluates the area of news publications for effect of internet on print media. Levmor and Craven (2011) states that online channel has caused a declining effect on print media in the context of news publication and consumption. The reason for this impact is ascribed by Levmor and Craven (2011) to benefits of online news over print news. Online news has the functionality of having the facility to place news stories into better context by including photo galleries, videos, and hyperlinks to different sources or relevant articles published online. The superior level of customization for individual reader made possible with the Internet gives it a remarkable edge over print media. Several newspapers have gone out of business or shifted to online model during the last ten years (Baigi, 2011). Dijkstra, Buijtels and Raaij (2008) adopted a circulation model to understand the impact of interent on physical news publication business by using circulation measure rather than readership model. Circulation of printed news pertains to the cumulative number of individual copies distributed or printed, while readership relates to the total count of people reading a publication taking into account borrowing and sharing, as well (Dijkstra, Buijtels and Raaij, 2008). The former was utilized due to greater accuracy of the count. A positive correlation was found between growths of internet penetration among masses with the reduction in newspaper circulation. Baigi (2011) also expresses the opinion that competition between the Internet and print media is leading to an absolute withdrawal of newspapers and magazines from the shelves. Decline in profits of the print news industry is caused by the reduction of the demand printed materials and a subsequent decline in advertising placed in the press.  It is even projected that in the United States a complete stop in the production of printed media is possible in the next seven years (Baigi, 2011). The same trend is expected in most developed countries in Europe. It is even predicted that by 2040, fifty largest countries of the world will completely stop printing of newspapers and magazines.  Impact of Social Variables Internet is not only favored for economic reasons over print media, rather there are social reasons for proliferation of internet media too. The rate of current environmental changes is so rapid that print media will find it challenging to keep pace with changing information. Liu (2006) puts forward the analysis is that contemporary humans live in an environment with broadcasting and internet where information must be immediate, calibrated, ready to use. The underlying thesis is that the media have established a mode of apprehension of the news in the minds of readers that one must comply. Internet also has the advantage of serving diversity which has long gone before. There are sites such as Telos, publishing articles which do not fit elsewhere. Similarly, more and more journalists publish their blog to deal with information that is difficult to place in newspapers written. Nevertheless, a highly interesting observation put forwarded by some thinkers it that the internet is not economically viable mode of publishing and communication (Ha and Fang, 2012). The written papers, journals and magazines represent a model in which creators of knowledge and writers are not compensated adequately. Freedom of sharing of information and piracy reduces the incentive for creators of information to engage in this arduous task. Therefore, society as a whole suffers. For this reason, Ha and Fang (2012)expesses the opinion that print media – espacially journals and technical information – can survive, and has in fact grown, during the last decade. To support this supposition, Ha and Fang (2012) mentions that the number of books published and the rate with which books are published in this era far surpasses the time when internet was not available. Internet is characterized by Greater Freedom than Printed Media Internet contains greater diversity of information and is less regulated by governmental authorities and power groups than printed media. Liu (2006) mentions that public denounce censorship of information. Liu (2006) cites the example of a cartoon drawn for the magazine, which was not published by the caretakers of the magazine for fear of the reaction of the ruling regime. This could have led to the blocking of the printing the magazine. The cartoon was eventually published on a blog and reached a mass audience. Several cases of bullying have been reported vis-a-vis newspapers choosing not to go through with some information for fear of being executed by government. Innumerable cases of physical violence in lesser developed parts have been reported in recent years. Distribution can be easily disrupted by members of the ruling regime or power groups.  Another example quoted by Liu (2006) is that of editorial headlines in the French press which have been blackmailed to strike non-issue if they followed the published comparison chart. This control of information by power groups is difficult in case of internet. Hence, the greater trust of readers on online text is creating an effect which favor internet over printed text. This is the reason that internet – specifically blogs – has created a declining effect on print media pertaining to social and religious movements. The Impact of Internet on Printed Books a very interesting relationship is found when the above mentioned decline of printed news is contrasted with printed books. Baigi (2011) mentions that publications of printed books have improved since the advent of the internet. A number of extraneous variables can be responsible for the growth of printed text other than the advent of internet, however, the fact that majority of the books which are pirated in online versions have a high demand in printed version, as well. This supports the argument that the effect of internet on print books have been a positive one. Internet has played a critical role in disseminating information about books and authors at global level (Baigi, 2011). Consequently, it has played a role in growth of print media. Online copies of books serve to provide a preview to the target audience about the thoughts and ideas of the authors, and lead to an increase in awareness and subsequent demand for printed text. This is the reason in case of printed books it is opined that the effect of intenet has been to complement rather than replace print media. Perspective of Complementary vs. Replacement Role There is a perspective amongst the theorists that emergence of newer communication media supplement previous media rather than replace them. Marcus et al. (2007) mentions that the evidence for supplementary role in part is exhibited by presence of old media like radio. The continued existence of the old media despite the vociferous predictions of their demises shows that supplementary role of the new media does play an important role. Thus, Marcus et al. (2007) states while traditional media do undergo partial replacement in certain sector after the emergence of Internet, traditional print media and Internet can continue to play their respective roles without being displaced completely. Marcus et al. (2007) reconciliate this theory with the shrinking newspaper segment by stating that a reallocation of market shares takes place between new and old media after the introdution of the media to the masses (Marcus et al., 2007). Evidence of this proposition is supported by presenting the view that online information usage essentially reinforces traditional print media consumption by creating interest in specialty magazines and books. In the view of Levmor and Craven (2011), not all theorists concur of the idea that the Internet is creating a displacement impact on print media. A survey was carried out to gauge the degree of displacement vs. complementary approaches in which respondents were questioned on their daily media consumption from different sources. Displacement effect on print for news media was reported but not for more serious pursuits like education, professional development, etc. for these areas of information gathering, print media continued to be predominant choice. In the light of the above mentioned study Levmor and Craven (2011), actually supports the idea that a partial displacement of traditional print media by the Internet did take place, yet in the long-run the two communication media can co-exist without a complete displacement of either one of them. Another conclusion which can be drawn from this study is that displacement is taking place in certain areas while in others Internet use may even strengthen use of print media. Impact of User Profile is also an important consideration for analysis of the effect of internet on print media is the cognitive profile and orientation of the user. Users of media are not one large group rather they comprise of various segments with different cognitive processes. Different users have different responses to print and internet media. Users are not identical in terms of their interactions with the respective media (Dijkstra, Buijtels and Raaij, 2008). Users are segmented according to four factors – namely, reading speed, cognitive make up, interaction with the media, and level of comprehension – to understand their response to the advent of internet media. Each one of these variables impacts the extent to which Internet can affect usage of print media by an individual user. All four of the factors, reading speed, cognitive make up, interaction with the media, and level of comprehension are areas of inquiry which can have an impact of the exposure to Internet for user groups within the larger population (Merid, Weigand and Heier, 2011). Those users who have a high reading speed tend to gravitate towards internet and online mode of seeking information because their habitual reading speed is quite fast which means that internet is likely to replace print media for these users. Also, experimentally it has been found that users with relatively advanced levels of cognitive make up tend to pursue printed text as their preferable source of information as compared to traditional modes of communication. In-depth analysis of this trend revealed that these users tend to perceive printed text as a more reliable source of information then internet. Part of the reason can be attributed to the fact that verification of information is quite weak on the internet while printed text is characterized by considerably greater verification. On the other hand, those readers who seek interactive media tend to gravitate towards the internet because it gives them the opportunity for a two-way communication. Comments can be submitted under news articles and sharing can be done readily on social media (Ha and Fang, 2012). Passive readers are more oriented towards physical copy of text. Printed text make for a much more leisurely read and is preferred for engrossing readings. Conclusion Analysis of research evidence shows that the effect of internet on printed media is not uniform rather it has varied to a significant degree. Extensive research has been conducted on the correlation between the growth of the internet and the decline of print media, but no clear conclusions is reached. Very few of the researchers investigating the topic are in agreement with one another. Majority of researchers have opposing views with each other on the subject. It is concluded that the Internet is rapidly changing and growing, but print media has managed to retain its readership in certain segments. The lack of agreement among scholars is reconciled in this research by finding two opposing phenomenon at work – namely, complementary effect and displacement effect. It is found that print media is generally perceived to have receded in consumption. The phenomenon of diffusion of the press is taking place at a rapid pace while distribution of newspapers and magazines is decreasing. Evidence is present to support the fact that internet contains greater diversity of information and is less regulated by governmental authorities and power groups than printed media. For this reason, internet is being favored by the readers and several newspapers have gone out of business or shifted to online model during the last ten years. Also it is concluded that a positive correlation is found between growths of internet penetration among masses with the reduction in newspaper circulation. Nevertheless, a highly interesting observation put forwarded by some thinkers it that the internet is not economically viable mode of publishing and communication. Four user specific factors, reading speed, cognitive make up, interaction with the media, and level of comprehension also plays a role in determining effect of internet on print media. Displacement effect on print for news media is reported for newspapers. This effect is not supported for more serious pursuits like education, professional development, etc. For these areas of information gathering, print media continued to be predominant choice. The number of books published and the rate with which books are published in this era far surpasses the time when internet was not available. For this reason it is conluded that in case of printed books the effect of intenet has been to complement rather than replace print media. References Baigi, S. (2011) Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media, New Jersey: Engage Learning. Dijkstra, M., Buijtels, H. and Raaij, F. (2008) 'Separate and joint effects of medium type on consumer responses: a comparison of television, print, and the Internet', Journal of Business Research, vol. 58, no. 13, pp. 377-386. Ha, L. and Fang, L. (2012) 'Internet experience and time displacement of traditional news media use: An application of the theory of the niche', Telematics and Informatics, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 177-186. Levmor, S. and Craven, M. (2011) The offensive Internet: privacy, speech, and reputation, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Liu, Z. (2006) 'Print vs. electronic resources: A study of user perceptions, preferences, and use ', Information Processing & Management, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 583-592. Marcus, B., Lewis, B., Williams, D., Whiteley, J. and Albrecht, A. (2007) 'Step into Motion: A randomized trial examining the relative efficacy of Internet vs. print-based physical activity interventions', Contemporary Clinical Trials, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 737-747. Merid, M., Weigand, S. and Heier, A. (2011) 'Learning with videos vs. learning with print: The role of interactive features', Learning and Instruction, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 687-704. All formation Read More