Print media will never die

Print media will not and cannot die. This is not my argument but that of a much more qualified individual. I don’t have the expertise to make this declaration but he does.

I remember attending a lecture by Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist who dropped out of Harvard to establish Microsoft, about 15 years ago at the Hoam Art Center in downtown Seoul.

During the hour-long event, he observed that Ted Turner, the chairman of CNN, predicted about 10 years ago (previous to his speech) that print media will be dead and gone in 10 years.

But it was still around then, in the form of newspapers, tabloids and magazines, and it is still here now, all around the world. Why do you suppose that is?

The explanation Gates gave was that these information outlets serve different purposes and complement each other.

My initial reasoning was that you cannot take your personal computer or television into the toilet where many people enjoy reading newspapers and magazines.

Times have changed. There are Galaxy Notes, iPads and all kinds of smartphones which provide similar information, all without printed material or a price (although media organizations like the New York Times and the Financial Times are now charging netizens for accessing online news).

And the reality is that subscriptions to printed material have been on the decline ― some more drastically than others ― and there are real and serious concerns among offline companies.

They are in a survival game and many are undergoing restructuring, basically trying to cut costs to cover the losses in subscription revenues.

Fortunately, Gates was quite right when he said online and offline information services are complimentary.

What has happened is that both areas of the media have transformed drastically since the introduction of the Internet, much of which is for the benefit of readers.

The depth of news reporting, editorials and feature articles has grown noticeably in the print arena while online coverage tends to offer coverage over a different range.

Basically, what it has come to is that readers and netizens have a wider range of choices from which they can choose how to get the information they want and need.

It is a battle in which there is plenty of competition and much at stake

Many news companies are trying to strike the right balance between the priorities of print and online ― since all of them have both ― but this is no easy challenge, especially because money is the decisive factor.

But this is actually not the most important thing. I would hate to think that media companies are in it for the money, although I have to admit that it cannot but play a part.

Again, as Gates pointed out, there is plenty of room for coexistence; and then some. In fact, I tend to believe that one can no longer prevail without the other.

I check online news most of the day when time allows and read the newspapers in the early hours of the morning. As I do this every day, I can tell you for a fact that contents are not all that similar.

Charge or no charge, online news usually focuses on the sensational aspects of life, business and society whereas the print media seems to invest a lot more time on in-depth interviews, editorials and feature articles.

In the beginning, there was some confusion because most websites of newspapers and magazines were basically replicas of the print version. However, this is no longer the case.

This is a good thing for both providers and receivers of information, mainly because there is so much of it in the 21st century.

Recipients are increasingly selective about the type of news and information they choose to follow and use it to improve the quality of their lives, and the media is determined not to be left behind.

Media organizations exist not to complain about their difficult business and customer environment but to find ways and means of rising to the occasion, no matter how tough.

After all, competition is a good thing. <The Korea Times/Jake J. Nho>

*Jake J. Nho heads online operations at The Korea Times. He can be reached at jakenho@koreatimes.co.kr or jakenho@hotmail.com.

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