One thing that most journalists now realize about our current media climate is that things are changing and changing drastically. As newspapers and magazines are turning digital or focusing on mostly video news, writing for a big-time strictly print-based company is appearing a little harder each day. Teen Vogue, a magazine that I and many other teens have grown up reading, recently decided to move to an all-digital format. The reason behind this change is to reach a wide range of audiences, as much of America’s youth has made a very drastic shift in desires for magazine content. While a few years ago magazines were typically filled with the latest diet fads or makeup tips, readers are now interested in more diverse topics. From ideas of self-expression to politics to equality – finding a balance of all of these ideas is a difficult thing to do. By opening up their magazines to more people through a digital format, more teens will be able to get and share their information, helping the news reach a wider audience. Teen Vogue isn’t the only media source changing their print department. Magazines like Glamour, Allure, and Bon Appétit are also changing how many issues they plan to print in a calendar year.
The use of digital media will give the magazine and newspaper industries a new way to write and distribute the news. From a technical perspective, getting the news to a wider audience is impossibly easy with the use of digital print. With one email, your magazines can be sent directly to you. Not only will they be to you faster than any physical copy, but these magazines can also have interactive videos, sounds and links. With the use of clickable links, the potential for advertising will skyrocket and, due to this, there is the potential for high brand exposure in the entire magazine.
The use of digital media does have its shortcomings, however. In the realm of advertisements, with the constant possibility of higher click revenue, these ad spaces will become much more competitive. As these ad spaces get more competitive, the ad ratio (typically 30 ads in 50 pages in print) is making ads per view a four to one ratio. This ratio measures the usefulness of advertising by dividing the ad cost by sales revenue, which shows if an ad campaign is effective or not. This possible decrease in space will greatly affect hope a magazine will get its funding by how many customers it produces. The rise of 2D media also makes it hard for tactile learners who require a 3D surface to learn from. As well, trying to find the correct place to read from a digital book or journal is nearly impossible. When I am trying to research and read a journal on my school’s library website, I always find myself accidentally sliding back and forth between pages while I simultaneously try to type in a word document. Flipping through pages to take notes and learn the information helps many students truly study and retain the information
While the world changes, it is impossible to believe that mass media won’t change with it. Keeping up with how the world learns and retains its media is one task that journalists all over the world have to complete. By monitoring and learning how people read and comprehend media, journalists are able to edit how they write and produce the news to keep up with the time.