Journalism moves from print to web

Journalism moves from print to web

DawnNews’ Wired and Active show brings you this question of the week:

Are newspapers a thing of the past?

Journalism as we know it is undergoing a transition. Prestigious newspapers in the United States are losing up to US$ 1 million a week. It is estimated that in the coming year, eight of the 50 largest newspapers in the US will cease publication. Already, publications such as The Christian Science Monitor are publishing only on the web. And many news outlets are increasingly producing bite-sized news items – SMS headlines, short podcasts, two-minute videos and news feeds – to cater to the fact that most readers and viewers are now accessing the news using mobile, hand-held devices.

The shift from print to web has also sparked other changes, both good and bad, in traditional journalism. For example, internet-based softwares such as blogs force reporters and columnists to hyperlink to their sources, thereby reducing plagiarism and making journalists’ sources transparent. At the same time, numerous research studies have shown that people consume less news online: the average internet user spends 56 minutes a month on news sites (12.6 minutes a week) while the average newspaper reader spends 12.4 hours a month (2.8 hours a week) mulling over column inches.

Given the increasing ease with which people can access the internet and the present-day culture of a 24/7 media world, do you think newspapers are a thing of the past? Does the shift from print to web make news outlets better or worse? Do you prefer reading a newspaper or clicking through a website to get news and other information? Will mobile technology change our understanding of news delivery systems?

The best responses will be highlighted on this week’s episode of Wired and Active, which airs on DawnNews on Wednesday, July 1, at 8:30 p.m.

 

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21 Responses to “Journalism moves from print to web”

  1. zahida says:

    Just like every scientific invention brings a constructive change it also leaves some negative effects on human practices. No doubt the very busy person of today’s materialistic world with more challenges gets a good chance to have all kinds of information just in one click, while on the other hand he loses the pleasure of reading the detailed stories of the printed text. Sitting in front of a computer or TV does not please a person as compare to one who sits to read a newspaper near a river side or in a green garden with a cup of coffee.
    But all that does not mean media has become the part of the past. People like me who have the time and source, will obviously prefer to read the newspaper.

  2. prints plus says:

    Posters are used in academia to promote and explain research work. They are typically shown during conferences, either as a complement to a talk or scientific paper, or as a publication. They are of lesser importance than actual articles, but they can be a good introduction to a new piece of research before the paper is published. Poster presentations are often not peer-reviewed, but can instead be submitted, meaning that as many as can fit will be accepted.

  3. Mudassir Ali says:

    Well, Internet has made the spread of the word and knowledge amazingly faster and easier. There are some advantages of electronic newspapers (and books). I have an Amazon Kindle, the e-book reader as well, and I regularly read Time, Newsweek and the Reader’s Digest on it, I surf inter net to check out Dawn.com, CNN.com, BBC.co.uk/Urdu among
    others; but trust me, the pleasure of reading the Boston Globe in the actual paper form is something I highly value and enjoy. So, I think the print media has a definite bright future. Reading an actual newspaper is like watching a movie in the theater. Of course you can watch movies on your DVD player (or VCR, Cable, computer etc), but nothing will match the experience of a theater.

  4. Mudasar Latif Memon says:

    It seems true, with the passage of the time and the fluent use of internet, one can acess all the information, from the web rather than to purchase a newspaper.
    As life is getting busy, everyone want to spend their little time to take more benefits, in the same way young professionals who wants to run with the flow of the society, get themselves updated by few clicks in a short duration of time.

    Other benefits of E-papers are that, one can access the information remotely, from any site of the world.

    Being ELectronics Engineer i will suggest that, the information provided to the web, must be provided a more user fiendly environment, to save time and not to feel bore at the time of reading news.

  5. Yup, this seems quite true. As most of the competent writers are running their own blogs. The major reason is also the introduction of free and easy to use blog applications like blogger and wordpress. Good remuneration programs can stick good writers to newspaper but what about consumer they also love to see latest news online. Lets see what happens in coming years.

  6. Zafar Ali says:

    I think print journalism has its own importance; it is simply the addition of new tools due to the tremendous development in the field of technology.

  7. Em Zee says:

    Well, news on web are just in as the things happen, but joy of reading is with the prited paper.

  8. Mehroz Siraj says:

    Being from a journalism background my self, i understand that the issue being debated over here is a delicate issue.

    Putting my ideas in one simple sentence, i can only say that the importance of newspapers and most essentially, news magazines like Newsweek, Time and Herald,
    has only been reinforced.

    It must be essentially noticed that media outlets like the Washington Post, New York times and even, the Dawn, actually derive most of their online content from the print versions.

    the common readers and viewers fail to understand this thing that a major chunk of the infrastructure on which news media empires are based today, even in the Western world, is based upon newspapers and print media, not digitial or electronic media.

    Another thing what the common readers and viewers dont understand is that the news media has two professional models, the journalism model and the business model.

    Research shows that newspapers like the Boston Globe or the christian Science Monitor and others did not collapse because of a crisis of journalism, but they cllapsed because the business model was not right…

    Have you ever thought that why amidst this talk of gloom doom, Rupert Murdoch was willing to spend a hefty $5.6 billion purchasing the Wall Street Journal???

    Ans: murdoch knows that newspapers have a bright future, only if the journalism model is left on its own to adapt to technological changed, whereas the business model needs to be rectified further.

    another key issue that needs to be raised, is that when circulations in the West are declining, those in the East, are actually increasing….

    Newspaper circulations in India have grown by more than 50 per cent over the last five years, Pakistan has seen a relative circulation increase by at least up to 10 per cent a year. figures across the middle east show similar trends.

    a lot depends on newspaper content as well, which again has become victim to the problematic business models being practiced these days
    !!!!!

  9. samra mazhar says:

    newspaper is still superior than web. In my view,anyone can have the indepth story always turn to newspaper rather web as i always prefer newspaper to web for indepth.newspaper also provides the better interpretation.

  10. Keti Zilgish says:

    With thanx to Dawn for giving me this opportunity I must suggest that i began respecting this newspaper long before anyone dreamt of the web.
    I’m sure a lot more people would enjoy reading Dawn on the web if Dawn’s website was more user-friendly & by that i mean only two things for the time being.
    Firstly the url’s should be as short as possible and not as long as possible as they are right now. If the url’s of the forum and blog folders can be short why can’t they be short for the other folders too?
    Secondly one should be able to move across the website with minimum resort to the mouse and maximum to the tab key.
    I am taking this opportunity to remind Dawn that even the capitalists in America have begun to recognize that anarchists make the best web designers.
    China, India, Japan etc have taken the lead in information technology because they relied primarily on open source software to begin with. India’s ambitious universal literacy plans are also being based upon open source, even in the mobile world.

  11. Tariq Mian, Canada says:

    At least, the present generation (young or old) will have to stay a little longer with the print media; therefore, newspapers will not be a thing of the past for a while.
    The shift, however, offers much better understanding at all levels nationally or globally. The beauty is that the readers can easily verify the news though accessing the websites.
    However, the most of the credit, of enhanced quality of news and journalism, goes to the internet technology.
    Personally, I do prefer clicking through a website in order to completing my self-satisfaction, and it would become more enjoyable experience, should a hard copy of the newspaper were available at the same time.
    Of course, with the mobile technology-the things have changed quite a bit giving more accessibility to the latest news, which is just a click or so away.
    Additionally, there are other facilities available (e.g. forum and blog).

  12. Zaheer says:

    I think both newspaper and web have their own importance. Newspapers published once in 24 hours while websites updates many times in 24 hours so you can get latest news easily & in short time because everyone so much busy these days not having time to read the whole newspaper, on the other side using internet might cause health problems specially related to eyes while newspaper doesn’t have any drawbacks and it is tangible proof to keep with you all the times everywhere but u cant access web or take your computer everywhere.

  13. ak says:

    In countries like India and Pakistan where literacy rates are on the upswing, millions of first time readers are being created. Also access to net is limited in these countries. So at least in India, I know that newspapers readership continues to grow and has not yet peaked.

    In emerging markets, the 24 hour news channels are more likely to substitute print media rather than internet.

    In the US though, a couple of iconic newspapers such as New York Times may service. Most print newspapers will simply disappear as people get their news either online or through titter. Niche magazines will still survive though.

  14. Faiza Mateen says:

    I don’t think that newspapers will become a thing of the past unless Pakistan is going to face electricity shortage. When there will be no electricity, how can people be able to operate their computers? And when people will not have access to computers, how they can read the online newspapers? The case of US is different from Pakistan where there is hardly any power breakdown in a year, whereas load-shedding of electricity is a non-stop and daily affair in Pakistan.

  15. Omer Tallal Khan says:

    Browsing news sites on the web have so many advantages. First of all its ‘free’. Then it gives the reader such greater freedom of choice, where in fact he/she can go through all the top (or personal favorite) news sites. Although it depends on the design but most sites have a index where you can quickly skim through all the headlines (and maybe a brief descreption) of all stories and click the ones you like, all in one page rather than flipping through sections and pages. Plus news website allow stories to be shared easily among friends, groups. On one hand you may get to know interesting stories some friend sent you, on the other it also allows for a good online discussion, a sort of drawing room talk without waiting to find time to get out of the house and meet your friends and discuss your favorite topics. The sites are easily searchable, to find your favorite topic or some previous story that you saw a few days ago, some good sites even have automatic search features, listing links to appropriate stories on the side related to the story you are currenty reading. Stories allow comments from readers, sometimes direct contact with writers or columists too. The list of advantages just goes on…
    Having said that, it can still not take place of having a newspaper delivered early morning and going through it while your breakfast gets cold. I spend a lot of time online reading news but it cannot replace having the newspaper, which I sorely miss being out of my country. For me both are a need.

  16. Mohammad Amer says:

    No I don’t think so, but yes this is happening in Europ and America,but still in ASIA newspaper is a big source of information as well as news and it will remain.

  17. Habibullah says:

    Newspaper still has preference over web because one usually wants to have a paper in my hand to read it freely weather you are at home, at office, or at the place where you want to read something interesting. The paper is also your physical source of knowledge and sometimes good materials are available in the newspapers which one must have for future reference, web edition doesnt work like that. When there is no electricity, computer doesnt work, internet disconnected…. Then? The newspaper.

  18. Syed Ali Mehdi says:

    Reading the news on line is very good because on line news are the most updated. Unless you are without electricity I see no comparison of online news with the newspaper. it is something from the past.
    another excellent feature of online news is that, like Dawn, it allows the reader to express their views so easily. we certainly do not have this faclity with the news on paper.

  19. Tauheed Ahmed says:

    This is a revolutionary change whose impact will take years, and probably decades, to play out. The immediate impact is that the news is up-to-date, available in direct form (even live video), is accessible around the world with equal ease, and the traditional barriers to entry in the journalism business have been removed. Anyone who thinks he can predict what impact this will have on the world by, say, 2105, doesnt understand the revolutionary nature of this change.

    Having said that, the things that will not change and will probably even increase in significance are: credibility, understandability, and news analysis.

  20. Ghufran Shah Salarzee says:

    What will happen to Journalist income,who gonna pay him if everyone using their Cell phone net.

  21. Fahad Asad says:

    I am afraid, newspaper may just be the thing of the past. Although they may not vanish all together, as many still prefer to read their newspaper while sipping tea in the morning, their circulation in print form will definitely decline. I for instance now prefer to read my newspaper on line especially as it not only provides me with the latest news and interactive reporting, I can read a couple of news papers both local and international with the ease of just clicking on the mouse and staring at the colourful LCD screen. Some how it appears very labourous now to flip through those big yellowish pages while still retaining focus on the actual article. Also there is no danger of the newspaper being chewed up by the dog or getting wet due to rain or worst of them all! … the good old paper boy forgeting to deliver the paper in the morning … argh – so frustrating!!

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