Print Journalism making its ends meet

As my iPhone blinked, I was notified by snapchat to update the software. I clicked the link and landed on the app store page saying that snapchat added a feature called ‘Discover’. For the curious soul I am, I instantly updated the app and only to find out that I may not need to a separate news app on my phone. Discover had all sorts of news and entertainment. So, for the ever socializing young generation we are, when we get bored looking at what our friends are eating for lunch and what they have been doing during the class (which is completely news for our young generation by the way), we can swipe right and see what is happening around the world.

To be honest, almost all of us know that the world is shrinking and becoming a global village as Marshall McLuhan says. The example I quoted above just stresses the fact that everything is within the reach of a button. We all know that print and even broadcast journalism is struggling to sustain because of online journalism. Why walk 50 steps to go all the way to door when you can get the daily news right beside your bed?

Apps, websites and networking sites have completely changed Journalism. Jane Singer in her research article says, “ Convergence is becoming a global trend as media companies continue to expand their holdings beyond their original core products.”

As they try and adapt to survive by coming up with various alternatives such as e-newspapers, podcasts but still sticking to their core, print newspapers. It is no shock that print is almost on the verge of dying and various scholars have studied and have come to this conclusion.

Earlier this year, The Australian’s report on Fairfax’s decision of going completely digital can be regarded as a consequence of convergence.

References-

Singer, J.B., 2004. Strange bedfellows? The diffusion of convergence in four news organizations. Journalism studies, 5(1), pp.3–18.

Kolodzy, J., 2006. Convergence journalism: Writing and reporting across the news media. Rowman & Littlefield.

Al-Rawi, A., 2016. News Organizations 2.0: A comparative study of Twitter news. Journalism Practice, pp.1–16.