NDM: The decline of the newspaper industry

The future of newspapers

Read this article from the Economist on the future of newspapers.

On your blog, write a paragraph summarising the argument the article makes. Then answer the following questions:

This article talks about Newspapers as a dying media as it is boldly stated in the title "Who killed the newspaper?" It goes into how it is becoming less about 'word to readers' and  more 'readers to advertisers' Although newspapers as a whole haven't started to shut down there has been a decrease in jobs and investments. Which has triggered a change in newspapers in the sense that there has been a cut in costs and a change in who they are trying to attract.

1) Do you agree with its view that it is ‘a cause for concern, but not for panic’?
- I agree with the view that it is a cause for concern, but not for panic. This is because Newspapers need only to adjust to the changing times. This is highlighted by he fact that he guardians have a whole new audience that they can appeal to abroad in the USA due to the fact that there is an online website. This could open up new opportunities and means the journalism can survive it this new form instead of the traditional print newspapers.

2) The article is 10 years old - an eternity in digital media terms. Have the writer's predictions come to pass? Use statistics from your Ofcom research to support or challenge the writer's argument.
- Print is a dying medium. That I believe is correct and that the writers predictions are right. Due to the Internet the pace at which print has been in decline has hastened even more. The fact that an increasing platform that is being used for news in the internet that has been growing steadily from 32% in 2013 to 48% last year. Whereas, Print has been decreasing from 40% in 2013 to 29% last year.

3) The Economist suggests that high-quality journalism in the future will be backed by non-profit organisations rather than profit-seeking media corporations. Is there any evidence for this? How is the Guardian funded? What do major stories from the last year such as the Panama Papers suggest about how investigative journalism is conducted in the digital age?
- There are some newspapers backed by non-profit organisations such as the Guardian, the Christian Science Monitor and National Public Radio. The guardian is funded by The Scott's Trust. Major stories like the Panama papers suggest that investigative journalism is becoming less important and less of a priority and this could be due to the fact that not only is it too expensive but the act that this story was only released due to information being leaked online through anonymous sources. This could highlight the fact that citizen journalism is increasing.