Why Newspapers Will Survive the Onslaught of the Internet

Recently, a prominent Naga personality said, “Who even reads newspapers these days? Everything is readily available on social media…”. Without delving much into the details, I reckon that the statement was in bad taste and without proper thought.

Moreover, this is not a retort or a response but rather about how the question has given me the urge to retrospect on the topic. 

The current scenario

The current technological world is moving at such a pace that even trends get outdated in no time, which the media industry is clearly becoming part of. With everything and anything readily available at the click of a finger and a few taps, the stature of print media is steadily declining on a global scale.

Currently, the print news media is taking a ‘beating’ at the hands of digital/social media. Digital/social media is much faster. It disseminates information and news in the blink of an eye and has the ability to reach a wide range of audience in a short span of time. Look around you and see how people consume news and media and you can make your own informed deductions.

The internet is crushing the already declining print media.

Even at the local-level, Nagaland has four major English dailies, a handful of vernacular papers and another ‘hyperlocal’ English daily at present. Comparing this number to the presence of news pages on social media — Facebook, Instagram and YouTube combined — print newspapers do not even comprise half the number of these sites.

The general consensus, which has been floating around for decades, around the print news industry, however is that it is ‘not yet’ dead! Countless surveys and research around the world consistently show that there has been a steady decline in newspaper readership over the years and decades.

However, while the internet has fueled the growth of social media news sites on various platforms and shortened the gap between news and people, what it lacks is credibility and authenticity, stemming from the fact that a particular news can be morphed, edited, deleted, etc. in an instant.

Moreover, the ethics of journalism, more often than not, is missing from social media news sites as stated and observed by veterans of the print media. 

‘Print will survive’

Print newspaper has come a long way and seen major generational and technological advances. It has survived the radio and television, which arguably are faster ways to disseminate information compared to a newspaper.

Despite the current technological advances, the print media has built a niche for itself and it is because of the simplicity of picking up a newspaper and reading it that it has survived. Unlike modern technologies, newspapers do not require access to the internet and need not be charged!

A seasoned journalist, when queried about social media and its impact on print media, responded that social media sites just do not bring the feeling of authenticity. ‘Whenever there is a viral news or video on the internet, people will look for it in the newspapers the next day for more credible details and if it is authentic or not’, he stated.

In addition, a regular advertiser (an organisation) in the print media echoed the same sentiment that print is ‘authentic and credible’. And that sentiment reverberates with readers and advertisers as well, hence the preference for advertisements on print media over social media platforms.

Although some may argue that print ads are more expensive compared to digital media, it should also be known that print itself is a costly affair due to multiple inputs such as physical labour, ink, machinery, etc. 

Further, one has to pay a premium for the name, the credibility and the reach of an established print media just as one would have to fork out to pay an ‘internet influencer’ or a leading digital news/social media site for a sponsored post or an ad.

Another veteran journalist based in Dimapur with almost 20 years of experience stated that despite the dwindling circulation of print newspapers, people will still need to publish court notices, affidavits, births and deaths, insurance claims among others because print is proof in a court of law.

A local newspaper is also a great way to disseminate information about the community for the locals. Established print media houses have loyal readership bases. For these readers, reading the newspaper has become a habit that is inherent to how they consume news. 

A number of scientific research and studies conducted over the years have also found that people are able to retain information better on print than reading it on a screen. The reason? Because print is physical. Reading and feeling the paper, the brain is able to process it easier, thereby increasing recall.

Bottom line, newspapers have adapted to several life changing technological advances and will continue to adapt for survival. 

The way forward

While this is not a definitive theory proven by scientific research, here is my take on the way forward.

Established print media houses need to up the ante and move forward with the changing times. One way of doing that is to capitalise the ‘established’ name of the paper, take it to the digital platform and diversify across various platforms.

If people subscribe and read an established newspaper, they will also, surely, follow the paper in the digital platform due to its name. For a print newspaper at this day and age, the digital platform should not be ignored or seen as a competition, but rather as an ally and try to derive the maximum benefit.

Another way forward is to know the readership, the audience and act accordingly. Stories about ‘the local community, by the local community and for the local community’, while raising societal issues will bring in more readers and help to amplify their stories. 

To conclude, as long as there is a love for reading, love for the physical and raw feeling of reading on a physical paper or book, print media will go on despite its dwindling circulation and despite the fact that not all may make it.

‘Newspapers will survive time; the ‘paper’ part may not!’

PS: This article in no way intends to discredit any digital/social media news sites. Rather, it is a commentary on the current state of affairs.

Inakavi Kasho
Signal Rio colony, Dimapur