future of print media

As a journalism major, the future of print media is very interesting to me because it will have a direct impact on the future of my life. As someone who hopes to join the news world it is my hope that print media is able to make a come back of sorts. The main obstacle in this fight is the internet. The internet has made news readily available and free from a variety of sources. If a news organization starts to charge its online readers, the readers will likely look elsewhere for their news. Print media needs to find a way to bring in a profit so they can expand their news services and make their news a more sought after product. This profit may come from either selling more physical copies of their papers, or maybe by charging more money for their online advertisements. It may also be reasonable for small news companies to join together into one to form a larger operation and gain more funding and expand their reader base.

Another way for news papers to build credibility and a larger following with readers is to educate the readers. Readers of online blogs and websites need to be more aware of where the news is coming from. The story someone posts in a blog may have come from a factual story, but what they have posted may be skewed by their personal opinions and beliefs. Readers need to be able to pick up a paper and trust that the stories seen have been fact checked for accuracy. In the end the print media companies need to find a way to make the readers need them. They need to prove to readers that the information they cover is the best information available, and they need to offer a variety of topics to pull in different demographics.