PRE

The Prominence of Paper

            I wake up and check my Twitter account around 6:07 a.m.  I skim the tweets from Time Magazine, The New York Times, and Men’s Health Magazine. I also quickly check my Facebook page and Instagram sources to see if I am able to determine past, current, and future news and information since I was last logged on.  I feel pleased to know a large amount of activities and events that will be taking place today within Logan City and at Utah State University with only a touch of a finger.

            I slowly and tiredly get up out of bed to ready myself to start my school day.  I prepare to attend my first class, which happens to be a pre-requisite for my major, Journalism Communications.  As I slip on my clothes and start to tie my shoes, my mind wonders on the topic of print media and the different viewpoints my Mass Media 1500 Professor currently discussed with us from our last class period.  I look around to see if I happen to have a Newspaper lying around or any other source of print media in the apartment to examine and view for fun.  I am particularly shocked to see there is nothing of the sort and no papers to be found.

            I take a silent step back and ask myself “have I really let print media slip out of my life?”  I analyze the various magazines, newspapers, and books I have purchased within the last year to read for enjoyment, interest, and to keep up on the latest trends. To my slight surprise it was very difficult to remember the specific times throughout the past few months that I had purchased a copy of either one!

My goal throughout this paper is to express to the people of our beautiful world that there is more than just digitized content that we receive from a computer or cellphone.  Print media is not disappearing completely in today’s heavily digital world and has adapted and re-invented new ways to be viable with the times and to give the reader a more in depth understanding of the content that is at hand and in any given situation.  I will be clear to touch on a few points why print media is beneficial and necessary for the development and future of business advertisement, the household, and how such a medium effects society.

Print media is the foundation of all media sources and should never be replaced or labeled as outdated.  It is a tangible, credible type of media that is available and has a unique way to draw in specific audience members that may not be found online. Print media has stood the test of time and has engaged readers for many years in the past and for many years to come in the future.

The world that we live in today is full of different types of media that controls our thoughts, actions, and opinions.  Can you think of all the different ways you have specifically obtained your media today?  Was it through radio, newspaper, television, or perhaps the Internet?  What source did you specifically use this morning? Was it print content, digital content, or both?  Think about it! 

Print media and digital Media have changed over the years in many different ways. Multiple companies dealing with print have had to rethink strategies and approaches to stay in business and capture their audiences and many of them have turned to digital sources and disregarded many print media options.  Was that a smart choice?  Keep reading and you tell me!

I undeniably adore Digital media and feel as if it has many different ways that benefits my life personally.  I love surfing the World Wide Web and I believe that I spend about 80% of my time on my computer or on my iPhone.  I watch videos on YouTube. I listen to new playlist and songs through iTunes.  I buy new articles of clothing through Amazon, and even download books and games for free!  Digital media sure does have its advantages and I feel that I could not live without it.  I would not like to disrepute it in anyway, but I do consider that print media does have the greater role in a few important ways that one might deliberate when deciding which channel to take their news and information from.

Print is much more reliable and always has credibility and a main source.  A person knows exactly where the information before them is coming from, whereas on the Internet through digital media is misleading and heavily opinionated.  The article: Different Ways of Thinking describes the example of how blog are often times misleading.  “The combination of hypertext and short length makes blogging similar to an associative structure through short key words.  Blogging is also reader directed.  Blogging may lead the web to be a kind of “participatory media” (Blood 2003) that allows massive interactions between readers and writers.  Readers can post their comments or feedback on a blog.  In return, writers can link to readers’ comments as source of information about the items they are blogging.  Readers’ participation becomes one of the criteria for the quality of blogs.  The most influential bloggers are known as the “A-listers,” based on the frequency of readers’ hits and the number of hypertext links pointing to their blogs.  Yet even the A-list bloggers may not often be held accountable for inaccurate content on their sites.  Even though a blog can be very useful it is wise to be careful and make your best judgment.  With print media as I explained above the source is always clear, and if there is a conflict the reader knows directly where to go for a question or concern. 

Print publications have a more loyal audience who are willing to support the circulation and process.  Brochures and magazines are able to stay in circulation for longer periods of time, and newspapers are a good place to advertise if you are searching specifically for a local audience.  Digital media is also a great place to advertise, but if your business is in Utah and your viewers live in New York will it do your business much good?  Print media can make targeting a certain audience over a longer period of time much more easily.

Many people no matter what age of life enjoy purchasing a physical copy of a book, journal, or article.  Many of these buyers probably own a digital device, but prefer to be able to turn pages and feel the text within their hands.  Many readers find that downloading digital media might be difficult, time consuming, or just plain confusing.  Satisfaction about physical interaction is found with a product that you cannot get on-screen.  Print media can produce robust, strong, convincing impressions on people that might otherwise be disregarded through another type of digital source. 

Print media represents the legitimacy of a company because it is physical. Readers are able to understand that the company or organization is real, valid and true. Holding a tangible piece of material sent out specifically to a mailbox gives the reader trust and a source of credibility and shows individual care from the advertiser.  It is more likely that they will also open up the letter and read it or at least view the message or content it holds.  It is much different than receiving an e-mail that can be easily ignored or quickly discarded in the trash section of your computer.

Many companies have developed a mobile first strategy as it says within an article I was able to find online which reads, “The growing popularity of new platforms on which to consume content has begun to change the face and future of the publishing industry.  While digital publishing began in the early 1990s with magazine Web sites and online digital editions, tablets and smartphones offer new capabilities that recreate the “lean back” reading experience magazines provide.  Publisher have responded with content specifically designed for reading on mobile devices.”  Although this is pleasing and convenient the reader is not able to get a longer, more in depth story that can be found within a printed article.  Many details are left out and often times misunderstandings take place.  Annoying advertisement banners do not do as well either due to the heavily populated neighboring banners spread around the page.  People are just not interested in an advertisement ad online.  To most viewers it seems fake and unreal unlike a printed ad.  Less than 20% of the readers actually click or even read such and ad or promoted article.   

Furthermore speaking on the topic of Families.  All over the world these family units spend much time within the walls of their own home.  Over the years children grow and learn, parents age, and new experiences and situations arise.  It is a busy atmosphere that is full of a whirlwind of emotions, from school and work, and many other scheduled activities.  With the new technological advances of cell phones, computers, and the Internet, much face-to-face quality time and interaction is cut out of such digitalized living conditions.

I grew up in a home that used many print media sources to teach me about everyday events around the world, and to inform me how to become a better person.  Every morning during breakfast my mother would read to us out of the newspaper, a spiritual magazine, or a motivational book to help us learn and grow together as a family.  We learned how to communicate as we discussed the different topics found within the literature as well as obtain the ability to think more in depth about each subject.  I am endlessly grateful that such print media was incorporated into my life at such a young age and I have reaped the many benefits that have came of it.  I know if print media was incorporated into every home that families would function with ease and find more joy, happiness and love.  The family will become more informed with the different situations that arise within their community, nation, and world.

Print media I argue is more safe and easier for the parent to monitor.  “For example, making a new friend online may expand one’s social circle or put one at risk from an abusive stranger; seeing sexual content online may enable exploration of one’s sexuality or expose one to misogynistic pornography.  Such ambiguity is especially characteristic of social networking services, for these may be beneficial, harmful, or, as in any case of “risky opportunities.” (Staksrud)  It is very difficult for a parent to monitor what a child is viewing on their phone and computer, which could have lasting effects and dangerous situation arise in the future.  The media we allow into our lives needs to be filtered in an appropriate way.

People often compare themselves with others through digital media.  “Whenever people are confronted with information about how others are, what other can and cannot do, or what others have achieved and have failed to achieve, people relate this information to themselves.  This implies that social comparison takes place in our everyday lives almost all the time, because people are easily exposed to or can effortlessly obtain information of others through various routes by directly interacting with others and by consuming media.” (Lee)  Although this could be very beneficial way to obtain media it is also very dangerous as described above the individual.  Print media is simple and direct.  It does not overexpose us to an overwhelming amount of information and gives us exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it.  With print media we are able to get a more in depth story and detailed script of certain topics and subjects which will help us obtain more knowledge that will help us grow and progress as a society.  It is much more efficient than skimming briefly a few points thrown into an article written online.

In an article I found it explains how print media allows us to function beyond ourselves in which I agree.  It says, “Throughout, I consider print as a technology of inscription that permits the dissemination of language.  As inscription and dissemination determine how information is sorted and shared, print enables memory to function beyond the individual.  Like all print, printed ephemera permits text, in the broadest sense, to be in the world, but it does so only for a moment.” (Mussell) Print media has withstood the test of time and has put up a good fight and will continue to do so.  This medium allows us to connect with how writing and journalism all began.  In many ways it is healthier to the eyes and the brain, and allows one to reflect and ponder and create their own ideas and opinions. 

Print media had benefited each and every one of us in one way or another.  It may not have been within the workplace or in the home, but I am sure it was an experience that touched and formed the person you are today.  Print media will continue to withstand the test of time and be the central foundation to all media sources.  I am an advocate for print media and encourage all to pick up a newspaper, magazine, or brochure the next time they come in contact with one!  Think to yourself the difference between holding the item in you hand and the different effects it has in comparison with a digital copy. The printing media industry can only keep growing and helping better our country and our people.