We discussed in ADV483 about the death of print, tv, and radio. With the internet sticking around, these media are suffering. Anyway, someone in my class said that if anything at all, he thinks magazines would be the first to go. Prof. Clifton just laughed coz she said immediately after he said that, a few hands shot up in the air – all female. Apparently men around the early 20’s are a hard target market for magazines which is why men would argue against magazines while women would be like “uh uh, you ain’t taking away my magazines.”
Sure, I’m one of those female tech nerds. I cannot live without the internet. My dad says my eyes are turning square like the computer monitor coz I spend too much time on the computer. My sis used to say I would never get a boyfriend coz I keep sticking to the computer and don’t meet people (GUYS in particular) outside. Proved her wrong anyway since I’m now with a wonderful guy for two years already. That’s all beside the point. The point is I spend hours on the computer, yet there are moments when I feel I need to read a magazine. Even if I know the magazines might pile up coz I might not have time to read them, I damn well need a magazine to flip through.
I like magazines coz they are easy reading material. I like certain magazines just coz I like the layout. Incidentally, even when I entered college, I was still reading CosmoGirl. The magazine was targeted at high school kids, but I simply loved the layout so much. Not to mention that I’ve been reading this magazine since its first issue.
My best argument why magazines are here to stay: You can bring your laptop into the loo when you’re doing the big one, but it isn’t comfortable. Reading magazines is a much better choice of activity while in the loo.
I was deliberating on this similar topic during a news writing module. It’s true that readership for print, tv and radio is on the decline and many speculate the death of traditional media in general.
At a personal level, I find diaries and hand-written journals are very much considered a thing of the past and today we have blogs. My main argument, however, feels that these content from TV, Radio and Print will not die; in fact, they never will.
We see how TV serials get uploaded onto YouTube, how Radio become podcasts and Print media get translated into eBooks and eBook readers emerge recently. In a way, the notion that content is king still remains.
My speculation is that new media will propel the industry forward and that traditional media companies will need to redefine their business models and strategies to deliver content to specifics audiences, rather than the blanketed broadcasting approach we see today.
TV serials which get uploaded onto YouTube will probably not see too many copyright litigations in the near future as YouTube helped increase awareness. Free-to-air TV will see less of advertisements especially in niche products since not everyone will be interested in them.
Being technologically-inclined need not necessarily strike off as nerdly I guess. Just like mobile phones have proliferated in ownership, so will computers and hand-held readers. In fact, being technologically-challenged will be the next social stigma.
While I really love the idea of getting newspapers delivered in full color on the soon-to-come iPads. I don’t mind getting my fingers coated with carbon occasionally.
p/s: congrats again on your second year with Koon Seng 🙂