Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Page Turns at the Click of a Mouse

For most of my adolescent life, I dreamed of being a magazine editor. I would soak up the pages of my Seventeen Magazine subscription, eagerly ripping out my favorite stories and pinning them to the bulletin board above my desk. In the wake of the layoffs and sales troubles that the magazine industry has recently endured, I have readjusted my future plans. 


It’s no secret that print journalism has encountered its share of struggles over the last few years. With the economic recession that swept across the nation last year came the demise of several several prominent magazines at Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast, including Gourmet Magazine, which shut down this past month after 75 years of publication. The demise of print journalism has also affected the newspaper industry, with the Boston Globe experiencing a major drop in sales. Though the paper has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993, the company began hunting for a new buyer in April due to the Boston Globe’s mounting losses. In October, the New York Times Company announced that they would be holding onto the paper.


Many attribute the decline in print journalism’s popularity to the rising influence of online media, since newspapers and magazines are now available on the Internet. While some newspapers require a paid subscription in order to view their online content, many sites are free for the public, relying on revenue from advertisements to draw a profit. This is a selling point for many time pressed Americans who have five minutes to read the day’s headlines on their BlackBerries each morning. Why buy a paper everyday when you can access so much unlimited content with the click of a mouse? While I do think that there is a certain appeal to holding a paper in your hands and flipping through the pages of a magazine, I must admit that the convenience of online media outweighs the nostalgia of print journalism. The realm of news, food & culture, travel and sports sites is so complex and detailed that it makes a daily newspaper seem limited.


I believe that print journalism will be completely obsolete in the not-so distant future, as many now-terminated magazines have already begun presenting original content in a web-based forum. Publishing groups like Time, Condé Nast and Hearst have even announced that they plan to be equity partners in a new online newsstand for various publications. This service has been described as an “iTunes for magazines,” providing a wide array of themes to read about. I think this decision shows an acceptance about the changing role of journalism. In our ever-changing society, it’s important to be flexible and willing to adapt since we are constantly expanding and improving our technological capabilities. It is bittersweet to think that young girls may no longer pore over glamorous magazines or that newspapers will someday be missing from Sunday morning breakfast tables, but ultimately, I believe that the evolution of online journalism will contribute to the diversification of news sources and well-roundedness of future generations.

- Sarah

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