I
love the printed page. The musty smell of old books, the crisp sound of a new
page being turned, the slam of a hardbound novel being closed, mentions of
Salinger’s Holden Caulfield and Hilton’s Shangri-La, all remind me of my formative
years when I dreamt about being a publisher of some sort and of building
libraries all over Manila. With the steady buildup of my digital library in
recent years, however, I have come to reassess this long-held dream. And the
recent Newsweek announcement has pulled down the blinds on this childhood wish.
Newsweek
is a news magazine that, at its peak, had a global circulation of over 4
million. Last October, it announced that it was ceasing print publication with
its year-end issue to focus on an all-digital format. The event, one of the most
high-profile newspaper/news magazine death announcements, portends the future
of news print publication—and quite possibly all manner of print
publication—around the world.
In
developed countries with mature markets, the statistics do not paint a rosy
outlook for the industry. Combined data for the US, UK and Canada show that the
paid circulation of news dailies has been steadily decreasing from almost 100%
of total households in the 1950s to under 40% of total households in 2010.1
Media
developments in the form of consumer radio, broadcast and cable television—and
in relatively recent times, the Internet—have clearly had a profound negative
impact on the print format. And recent shifts by nearly all newspapers, even
the ones in the Philippines, to “go digital” suggest that the Internet medium
is a most formidable opponent of the printing press.
The
principal issue for newspapers is the speed at which news content is
distributed and consumed by its audience. Before the Internet came along,
reporters would prowl their beats and receive tips, write up their articles,
then send them off to desk editors, who would finalize dailies with the
printing press for overnight printing then distribution through various circulation
channels, until it finally finds its way to your corner sari-sari store in time
for your morning coffee. Quite a long and stressful process, albeit one that
has been made efficient over the years.
Today, all
it takes is a tweet and a link—and you have your news. Print will never be as
fast as digital; today, I read the news on my smartphone, tablet or computer
the night before the same articles and opinion pieces hit the newsstands the
next day. I have no need, nor desire, to pick up a physical copy of something
that is by then old news. Moreover, it is much more convenient to read the news
on a gadget that fits the palm of your hand, as opposed to a broadsheet that
when spread open spans more than two feet. Compound this with the fact that I
often do not need to pay in order to read the digital version of the news and
you have a serious business model dilemma for newspapers.
I’ve seen
some resistance from those in the print media when it comes to recognizing
their online counterparts. Some question the seriousness of bloggers, in
particular, who haven’t experienced the rigorous on-the-ground training that
newspaper reporters go through. They can scoff all they want; it’s not going to
help them compete with new media. Like it or not, these new mediums are vying
for readership and leadership, too—the liberal and opinionated youth are
flocking to media that appeal to them, and in this regard, it looks like traditional
newspapers are losing ground.
It would
serve the print media well if they leveraged on what they do best: making sense
of the world for all of us who are constantly bombarded with information. By
banking on their collective experience, established network, and the gravitas
that readers readily assign to them, newspapers are in the best position to direct
our attention to the things that matter.
But even
then, it seems the march towards an all-digital news format will continue unperturbed.
Traditional news companies are developing digital strategies and creating stronger
Internet presence, acquiring blogs to improve localization and specialized publications
or hiring content writers to diversify their readership, such as what Rappler did
when it signed up Margie Holmes. Some are implementing paywalls for special
content to supplement advertising revenue (such as the New York Times), and
integrating social media into their digital editions to promote interactivity
and increase word-of-mouth. Some are even going purely digital—like Newsweek— and
some, like the Huffington Post and Rappler, never even had a print edition to
begin with.
Unfortunately,
there is no one-size-fits-all strategy here for print to survive the digital
age. But, as surely as one generation makes way for another, print will come to
pass. A generation that fell in love with printed pages, the ruffling sound
pages make when turned, and the unique smell of ink on paper will make way for
the children of today who use smartphones and tablets at the age of two, who
would rather type on a keyboard than put pen to paper, and who would be giddy
with excitement once the prequel of Twilight pops up on their Kindles.
I’m in a
special place: I’m in the middle of these two generations and the change is
easy to accept. Although blinds may have blocked the sun, a little electricity
may bring light to my dream.
Third S. Librea CPA,
CISA, CRISC, IBM-CAD is a Partner
with the Advisory Services Division of Punongbayan & Araullo.
Executive
Brief – December 2012
Punongbayan
and Araullo
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