Is Technology Destroying Traditional News?
The way we read news is changing. We have moved from going out and buying newspapers, to having the news bought to us through screens.
As discussed in my last blog post, social media and microblogging are convenient ways for people to access the news, without even leaving the house. Technology even has its place with traditionalists out there who like newspaper content, as almost every newspaper has an online counterpart.
But with news-outlets making little money online, what will there future hold and will we see an end to the traditional newspaper all together?
What Do I Mean By Traditional News?
Around 1440 the printing press was invented, the beginnings of the newspapers and magazines we have today. For hundreds of years, printed news was the go to for daily updates and was completely unthreatened. That is until the boom in technology, which brought with it free ways of accessing news and above all convenience.
Before the internet people could hear the news on the television and radio throughout the day. Although this shows the beginnings of technology infiltrating the news, it was/is not as bigger threat as the internet. Unlike online news, TV and radio can’t cover every news story (as they are restricted by time frames)and are quite specific to a home/car environment.
How Are People Accessing The News Nowadays?
Newspapers
An Ofcom report for the end of 2015 stated that in the UK newspapers are most popular with people over the age of 65, with 67.9% of them being newspaper readers, compared to just 29.3% of 15–24 year old’s.
The report also stated that newspaper readership has decreased over the past ten years…
“The reach of national newspapers has decreased considerably in the past ten years, with reach among all adults decreasing by more than 27 percentage points since 2005”- Ofcom
Television and radio
Although television is one of the most popular platforms for news, it too has seen a decrease in viewers. At the end of 2015 67% of UK adults used TV as a source for news compared to 75% the year before.
Radio also decreased with 36% of people using it in 2014 compared to 32% using it in 2015.
Internet and apps
The internet and app’s are the only platforms that have remained steady and saw an increase in users over the years. The results stayed the same between 2014 and 2015, but showed that four in ten people use them for news compared to three in ten in 2013.
The Impact Of Online Newspapers
There is no denying that these new ways of reading the news are negatively affecting traditional methods. Although newspapers are trying to get a presence online, it is difficult for them to make money this way.
Most online newspapers are free and boast a huge readership. The Daily Mail is the most read newspaper brand with a monthly readership of 23.5 million people (as of 2015), with over 21 million people accessing it online compared to just 10 million purchasing the print copy.
Another demonstration of the impact of online news is that in 2015 The Sun was only ranked the fifth most read newspaper despite being the most purchased print newspaper in the UK. This is because they had a small online readership due to the paywall set up on their content, which they have since removed to compete better with rivals.
Despite the popularity of online newspapers, the newspapers aren’t making as much money as before the digital age. As the majority of sites are free to access, money needs to be made through advertising alone, whereas before they would make money from both advertising and the profits from the papers.
Other Online Threats
Social media and microblogging also allows people to access news. This is bad for newspaper-outlets as it values them in no way whatsoever. Through these sites people can make their own news and social media news feeds provide a constant stream of timely updates.
“Those aged 55+ are more likely than those aged 16–24 to use TV, newspapers and radio for news consumption, while the opposite is true for the internet/ apps”- Ofcom
The consumption of online news is most popular with those between the ages of 16 and 24 (2015 Ofcom report). This does not bode well for the future of traditional news as this generation will continue with these habits and pass them on.
The problem with this form of news is that it can not be trusted as much as official news outlets. Anyone can write anything they want and publish it, which has lead to an outbreak of fake news stories. This is a subject I will be discussing in my next blog post.
Overall…
… the future of traditional news is not looking promising. More and more people are moving online for the news, and with it being so accessible and often free, its understandable why!
