How Traditional Media Can Survive the Shift to Digital

Wednesday, 04. 29. 2009  –  Category: Enversa Companies

When you pick up a newspaper or a magazine lately, you may have noticed that an article or story typically drives you to the digital counterpart of that publication by going online to their website. The idea of the small town newspaper is slowly fading away unless the publishers of that small town newspaper start to embrace a transition to a digital format. It is not necessary for a newspaper or magazine to stop printing standard media versions of their publications, however, people still enjoy having something they can hold on to other than a bulky laptop. But in order to remain as a viable source of the latest breaking news and information as opposed to just a vehicle for the daily crossword puzzle, the last holdouts of traditional media need to begin considering digital representations of their publications in order to survive into the future.

Larger publications such as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today have come to terms with the digital revolution, and you could say that they are at the forefront of the very battle itself. The Wall Street Journal has become a source for other outlets to purchase online media content, and the Wall Street Journal’s online publication has a very brisk subscription rate. But in order to be prominent as a digital medium, the content must first be valued by some segment of the community and must be original. The Wall Street Journal has been heralded for years as a source of cutting edge in-depth financial information, and the marriage of that reputation with the instant gratification of the internet is irresistible to many people. But the small town newspaper is being nudged by the local television stations that have extensive and up to date websites that feature news from all over the region at a moment’s notice. Why should someone looking for local news go to the store to buy a local newspaper when they can just go on to the local television station’s website and see up to date local news coverage? This dilemma is the crisis facing the small town newspaper as they cling to the notion that print is not dead and that the standard forms of media will continue to survive.

It could be said that a partnership between the local television station and the local newspaper would ensure the viability and survival of the newspaper for some time to come, but the question remains as to why would the television station save the newspaper? Why would a media outlet that is on the cutting edge of technology reach out to a dinosaur that is on its way out? Business logic dictates that unless the small town newspaper can get involved in some sort of partnership with a digital provider then their days just may be numbered.

Magazines that serve a niche can seem almost immune to this trend. It would be convenient for the readers of the top niche magazines to have the content interactive and available on the internet, but as long as there is little competition pushing the niche magazines to embrace the digital age then they will probably remain as hard copy publications for a very long time to come.

Marc Pickren is the President of Enversa- a performance-based marketing agency.

Tags: advertisers, article, branding, digital, marketing, television