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Newspapers and Magazines: Should We Shred? Is Print Media Really Dead?


Quick -- when is the last time you picked up a newspaper and actually read it? Did you bypass the news and flip straight to the comics, or scan the ads and then toss it all into the recycle bin?

Do print newspapers serve a purpose anymore?

The trend began around 1999. Newsrooms were laying people off and the few who remained were expected to pick up the slack. It was about this time that digital media began making headway, and people started canceling their newspaper subscriptions.

Publishers may have wanted to think of it as an evolution, not extinction, but they certainly couldn’t ignore the shrinking ad space or the anemic number of pages being produced. With every drop in circulation numbers, the companies that produced the news in print grew weaker, leaving journalists lightheaded at the thought of needing a new career.

Readers were catching up with the day’s news and advertisements in real time on their computers, and with the growing buffet of mobile options available now, no one has to be tethered to their desks to access the news anytime, anywhere. According to the Pew Research Center, newspaper ad revenue has declined 4% year after year to $19.9 billion – less than half of what it was a decade ago. Some newspapers have cuts costs so drastically that they have severely limited, or done away with specific sections, such as Business or Features.

Many online sites and social media platforms are filling those gaps.

The trend in news has been composed of hyperlocal sites that target a niche market. In San Diego, for example, our unique neighborhoods and different cultures can support a variety of news outlets. In the same way, businesses can tailor their advertisements by community to reach different demographics.

In an online post earlier this year, Matt Knust of MaxPoint said, “Regardless of industry shifts, shopper marketing groups that run hyperlocal campaigns will always stay ahead of any curve. This could mean that with more advertisers measuring digital campaign results using store-level data, brands will start seeing the dollars-and-cents results that hyperlocal advertising produces.”

With the rise in online media coinciding with – or contributing to – the fall in attention spans, businesses must have a local, digital presence to ensure brand awareness and exposure to build their connection with consumers.

A Business Insider study shows that 45% of Snapchat users are 18- to 24-year-olds; adults 65 and older prefer Facebook, with LinkedIn coming in a close second. So a teenager could go to dinner with his grandparents and all could post photos, click the “like” button and comment about their experience – and that’s a direct path to more customers.

A PR company could send the same tired news release to the local newspaper. But in a recent study done by ING, it was reported that 81% of PR professionals believe that they can no longer do their job without social media, and 78% of them felt that it was an important tool they needed to do their daily work – think Reddit, Twitter and Facebook.

With all of the evidence of its pending demise, should we give up on newspapers altogether? And what does this mean for businesses trying to get the word out to the public?

The times are changing, and so are the methods of advertising that are proving to me most effective. And that is something to click the “like” button about.