In a digital world, print stands out.
Journalism is, and always will be, one of the most important components to modern day living. As a journalism major (and this happens with other majors too) I get asked the questions that I don’t have the answers to. Here are a few things that I do know: I am passionate about what I do, I understand that the pay isn’t as good as other jobs, I have no idea what kind of journalism I want to do because the field is constantly changing, and print is definitely not dead.
Print is still considered a top-of-funnel medium. It is a huge outlet for advertising, it’s always been like that, and it looks like it will be constant in the future. Print ads allows people to submerge themselves in the advertisement since they take up such a large amount of space. When looking at digital content it’s easy to multitask and get distracted while reading an online publication. Consumers are even more engaged while reading a printed publication versus an online source.
Studies have shown that reading on paper creates stronger memories of the information. The same studies have shown that people prefer to read paper. Therefore, learning is better from printed pages. When reading on a digital source, people tend to scan the material other than read it. In some cases, students even prefer physical textbooks. It’s easier to flip back and forth in printed materials, and reading on print allows you to use your other senses by providing a tactile experience.
Journalism itself doesn’t depend on print anymore. It’s a constantly changing field, and with that the way we gather our news sources changes too.
But the role of journalism has never been as crucial. It’s a form of history, and it lets us see events and people we’re not able to expose ourselves to.
Long live print.
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Sources:
http://www.hubcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/HubCast-White-Paper-10-Reasons-Print-is-NOT-Dead.pdf and http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/05/smallbusiness/startups-create-magazines/