Print Media
Print Media is the most democratic form of information distribution. It does not discriminate based on income level, demographics, geography, or technology use. It provides something tangible, convenient, colourful, and occasionally persuasive. Print is a medium that must be physically delivered from originator to consumer.
From its invention 550 years ago, through a renaissance and a reformation, through the industrial and information ages, through competitors such as radio, cinema, television, and even computer networks, paper-based communication has dominated our society and our culture.
Print is not one thing, it is many different products, and each has different dynamics in relation to distribution method.
History
“Here is the living disproof of the old adage that nothing is as dead as yesterday's newspaper. This is what really happened, reported by a free press to a free people. It is the raw material of history; it is the story of our own times.”
-Henry Steel Commager, 1951
The newspaper as we know it today is a product born of necessity, invention, the middle class, democracy, free enterprise, and professional standards.
There is some debate over which publication was the first newspaper because the definition of a newspaper has been flexible. In ancient Rome,acta diurna, or government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved on stone or metal and posted in public places. During the Tang Dynasty in China (618-906), the Kai Yuan Za Bao alsopublished government news; it was block printed onto paper and mostly read by government officials.
In 1451, Johannes Gütenberg used a press to print an old German poem, and two years later prints a 42-line Bible -- the significance being the mass production of print products, ushering in an era of newspapers, magazines, and books.
Zeitung (newspaper) is a news report published in Germany in 1502, while Trewe Encountre becomes the earliest known English-language news sheet in 1513. Germany's Avisa Relation oder Zeitung, in 1609, is the first regularly published newspaper in Europe. Forty-four years after the first newspaper in England, the Oxford Gazette is published, utilising double columns for the first time; the Oxford/London Gazette is considered the first true newspaper.
The first daily newspaper was The Daily Courant in London, 1702. In 1754, The Daily Advertiser in London uses the first four-column format. France's first daily newspaper appears in 1777, Journal de Paris, while the first United States daily was the Pennsylvania Packet in 1784.
The rise of the middle class transformed newspapers in the 1800s. A penny (US$0.01) buys a New York newspaper in 1833, opening up the first mass market for newspapers. In 1873, an illustrated daily newspaper can be seen in New York. In 1878 the first full-page newspaper advertisements appear, and in 1880 the first photographs are seen in newspapers, using halftones.
With the basic technical groundwork for the modern newspaper in place by the late 19th century, the story of newspapers in the 20th century was about professional development and adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The story also involved an evolving business model that rode an ever-growing wave of mass-market advertising. Increased profitability and higher revenues attracted publicly owned corporations interested in buying newspapers from descendants of company founders, while simultaneously exposing newspapers to the whims of cash- and profit-hungry stock markets.
By 2000, newspapers were juggling priorities: fragmentation of news consumption, fragmentation of advertising investments, the advantages and disadvantages of being a mass medium, balancing the wants of the marketplace with the company's duty to provide the needs of the marketplace, a journalistic backlash against industry changes, the sheer physicality of ink-on-paper production and distribution versus digital distribution, increasing profit pressure surrounding the core print product, and extension of the company's core brand into other profit centres.
Beginnings in India
The first newspapers in Bombay were owned and printed by Parsis, who already owned the technological and financial basis for such ventures. The first English newspaper in Bombay was printed by Rustomji Keshaspathi in 1777.
The first vernacular newspaper in Bombay was the Gujarati daily Mumbai Samachar, published in 1822 by Fardoonjee Marzban. Although not the first newspaper in an Indian language (that distinction was held by the Bengali newspaper Sangbad Kaumudi, published from Calcutta) Mumbai Samachar is still being published, and is India's oldest newspaper. The first Marathi daily Dig-Dursan appeared in 1837, and the first Hindu-Gujarati newspaper, Vartaman in 1849 (in Ahmedabad).
Initially the newspapers concentrated on social issues. In 1851 Dadabhai Naoroji started the first political paper-- Rast Goftar. In later years, when K. N. Kabraji became the publisher, he stopped all political commentary and had a public exchange of letters with Naoroji in which each accused the other of deviating from the original agenda.
In 1878 the Government of India passed the Censorship Act. Protests from the press had no effect. Four years later, in 1882, the newspaper Kaiser-i-Hind was founded by Framjee Cowasji Mehta. This became a platform for the fledgling Congress from its inception in 1885. The leading British newspaper of this time was the Times of India.
Today’s Scenario
Informational 41%
Periodicals and Newsletters
Newspapers
Books, Directories
Technical Documentation,
Financial, Legal and Transactional
Promotional 30%
Catalogs, Direct Marketing
Advertising and Promotional
Packaging 12%
Packaging and Labels
Product 17%
Stationery and Envelopes
Internal and Forms
Miscellaneous
(Wallpaper, Wrapping Paper, Greeting Cards, Paper plates, etc.)
Over the last two decades most of the benefits of print media productivity have been passed back to the print buyer. Commercial printers are selling full-colour print at prices below those for the same product twenty years ago, with the help of automated presses, computer to plate, on- or off-press, and advanced digital workflows. With printing, both cost and price have declined in recent years. The key to success in the printing industry has long been cost control, which has been accomplished through heavy doses of automation.
But, print is no longer growing at previous levels and we are seeing a contraction in the number of printers. The cost of distribution can have serious consequences for the printing and mail industries, since publishers and marketers consider all costs in their business models.
It seems hopeless. How can the newspaper industry survive the Internet? On the one hand, newspapers are expected to supply their content free on the Web. On the other hand, their most profitable advertising--classifieds--is being lost to sites like Craigslist. The solution came out as On-line journalism. Here, on one hand print media was killed by internet, but on the other hand On-line journalism was born, and most of the houses renovated themselves.
“The process has begun with On-line journalism utilising Internet wherein websites are replacing the print media.”
ON-LINE JOURNALISM
The phenomenon of on-line publishing started 3 to 4 years ago when leading publishing companies began looking at electronic means of distributing their products. Initially it was services like fax-on-demand; bulletin boards; magazines in the form of CDROM’s.
The increasing popularity of the worldwide web made these companies look at the Internet more seriously for distribution of news. They started the electronic version of newspapers and magazines on the Internet, news services through e-mail and discussion groups. The list of Indian newspapers available on the net is given in Table.
INDIAN JOURNALISM ON THE WEB
Though India has got commercial access to Internet in the midst of 1995 when VSNL introduced it; it is not lagging behind other countries. Particularly, the Indian Print media has kept pace with the rest of the world in on-line publishing, despite the slow Internet take-off in the country. Several Indian newspapers and magazines went online, almost simultaneously with their Asian swell as European counter parts. As many as, 60 are available on Internet and the number is growing. And today some of the Indian newspaper sites are among the best that are available on the net. So far Indian news sites are being designed for foreign viewers mainly overseas Indians. Since number of Internet connections is low. Consequently on-line journalism has not affected newspaper readership. But in course of time more and more people will have access to computers and Internet. Then on-line journalism is likely to gradually replace print journalism.
Indian Newspapers and Magazines on the net
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Newspapers URLs
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Afternoon Despatch http://www.afternoondc.com/index1.htm
Akila (Gujarati) http://akiladaily.com
Andhra Bhoomi (Telugu) http://www.deccan.com/bhoomi/
Andhra Jyoti (Telugu) http://www.andhrajyoti.com
Andhra Pradesh Times http://www.aptime.com
Asian Age http://www.asianage.com
Business Line http://www.hindubusinessline.com
Business Standard http://www.business-standard.com/
Calcutta Online http://www.calonline.com
Daily Hindi Milap(Hindi) http://www.hindimilap.com/
Dainik Jagran http://www.jagran.com/
Dainik Kesari (Marathi) http://www.indianlanguages.com/kesari/
Dainik Pratidin (Bengali) http://www.pratidin.com
Dainik Suprovat (Bengali) http://www.suprovat.com
Deccan Herald http://www.deccanherald.com/
Deccan Chronicle http://www.deccan.com
Deshabhimani Daily(Malayalam) http://www.deshabhimani.com/
Dinamani (Tamil) http://www.dinamani.com/
Economic Times http://www.economictimes.com/
Goa Herald Newspaper http://www.indiaexpress.com/goa/
Gomantak Times http://www.indiaexpress.com/goa/gomantak/
Gujurat Business http://www.gujarat-yellowpages.com
Gujurat Samachar http://www.gujarat-samachar.com/
Hindustan Times http://www.hindustantimes.com/
Indian Express http://www.expressindia.com/
Kashmir Times http://www.kashmirtimes.com
Lokmat Times http://www.lokmat.com
Maharashtra Herald http://www.indiaventures.com/maharashtraherald/
Malyalam Manorama http://www.malayalamanorama.com
Mathrubhumi http://www.mathrubhumi.com
Mid-Day http://www.mid-day.com/
MP Chronicle http://www.mpchronicle.com/
Nai Dunia http://www.naidunia.com/
Navabharat http://www.navabharat.com/
Prajavani http://www.prajavani.net
Pune Darshan (Marathi) http://www.puneflash.com/M_HOME.HTM
Rajasthan Patrika http://www.rajasthanpatrika.com
Sambad (Bengali) http://www.sambad.com
Sambhaav (Gujrati) http://www.sambhaav.com/index1.htm
Sandesh (Gujrati) http://www.sandesh.com
Sanjevani (Kannada) http://www.sanjevani.com/
Siasat (Urdu) http://siasat.com
The Hindu http://www.the-hindu.com/
The Navhind Times (Panjim) http://www.goacom.com/navhind/
The Stateman http://www.thestatesman.org/
The Telegraph http://www.telegraphindia.com
Thinabhoomi http://www.indiadirect.com/thinaboomi/today/
index.html
Times of India http://www.timesofindia.com
The Pioneer http://the-pioneer.com
TheTribune http://www.tribuneindia.com/
Udayavani (Kannada) http://www.udayavani.com/
VAARTHA (Telugu) http://www.vaartha.com
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Magazines URLs
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India-Today http://www.india-today.com
Outlook http://www.outlookindia.com
The week http://www.the-week.com/
Frontline http://www.the-hindu.com/fline/index.htm
Filmfare http://www.filmfare.com/
Cine Blitz http://www.internetindia.com/CineBlitz/
Screen http://www.expressindia.com/screen/index.html
Femina http://www.feminaindia.com
Sportstar http://www.the-hindu.com/tss
Competition Master http://www.competitionmaster.com
Arcade (Fashion) http://www.pugmarks.com/arcade/
Business Today http://www.india-today.com/btoday/
Computer World http://www.indiagate.com/mags/compw/
Computer Today http://www.india-today.com/ctoday/
Dataquest India http://www.dqindia.com
Discover India (Travel) http://www.pugmarks.com/d-india/
PC Quest http://www.pcquest.com
PC World http://www.indiagate.com/mags/pcw/
Gladrags (Fashion) http://www.internetindia.com/GLADRAGS/
Golfline http://www.pcweb.com/golfline/
Export Import Trade Flash http://www.trade-india.com/tradeindia/tflash/
Islamic Voice http://www.islamicvoice.com
Electronics For You http://www.electronicsforu.com
Kumudam (Tamil) http://www.kumudam.com
Jam (Youth) http://www.indiawatch.com/jam/
Sattelite and Cable TV http://www.web-maniacs.com/scat/
The Eye (Youth) http://www.internetindia.com/theeye/
Voice and Data (Telecom.) http://www.voicendata.com
Srishti (Earth Sci.) http://www.srishtipublications.com
Rotary News http://www.internetindia.com/rotary-news/
New Cloth Market http://www.ourindia.com/INDEX~1.HTM
Nakkheeran (Tamil Weekly) http://www.pcsadvt.com/nakkheeran/
Marathi Internet http://www.indianlanguages.com/marathi/
TISS STUDY
In 1995, there were just 20 newspapers on the web, today there are over 4000, of them 225 are Asian newspapers. The important feature of the on-line media in India is that majority of the sites are in Indian Languages and English newspaper sites are just 18.
TISS library subscribes 15 local and national newspapers. Since users have access to Internet service facility, a survey was conducted to know the usefulness of on-line newspapers when compared to print newspapers. The study revealed that, the main purpose of using on-line newspaper is for day-to-day events and accessing archival information in the field of their research.
The following table shows the usage of Print vs. On-line newspapers with respect to their day-to-day events and for their research activity.
| Category of Users | Print | Print | On-line | On-line |
| | Day-to-day | Research | Day-to-day | Research |
| Faculty | 100% | 20% | 20% | 80% |
| Research Scholars | 95% | 10% | 10% | 90% |
| Students | 50% | 5% | 2% | 25% |
| Other Staff | 90% | 1% | 1% | 10% |
The study revealed the following results:
1. Print newspapers are most popular medium for accessing day-to-day information with almost 100% .
2. While On-line newspapers are mostly used for meeting their retrospective, academic and research information needs to support their field of research.
SWOT Analysis
“THE DEVIL: What is the use of knowing?
DON JUAN: Why, to be able to choose the line of greatest advantage, instead of yielding in the direction of least resistance. Does a ship sail to its destination no better than a log drifts nowhither?
The philosopher is Nature’s pilot. And there you have our difference; to be in Hell is to drift; to be in Heaven is to steer.”
-George Bernard Shaw, Don Juan in Hell
STRENGTHS
Availability:- How often has a buyer come into your office armed with a Times of India? Has a potential to reach large numbers of people
Believability:- Studies show the printed word still has the highest credibility, whether advertising or editorial. Print Media is a convenient and generally credible information source.
Memorability :- You've heard the advice that consumers must be exposed to a message three times before it affects their behaviour. By virtue of its permanence, print capitalizes on repeat exposure– something that's hard to get (and expensive) with broadcast media.
Flexibility:- Print advertising can stand alone or work in conjunction with radio, television or electronic media.
Visuals:-They use graphic elements that relate to the copy.
Headlines:-Aside from an eye-catching visual, nothing attracts a reader like a good headline. Increased readership by making the headline:
· address the reader directly
· refer to a specific problem or desire
· offer a specific benefit
· offer something new
WEAKNESS
Newspapers' primary weakness is failure to deliver quality content, than on inherent limitations of the medium or audience dissatisfaction with the "experience". The most notable weaknesses for newspapers are: credibility, "connecting" with readers, being engaging, providing depth of coverage, providing positive news.
Credibility:- Credibility is the largest single weakness for all media including newspapers. Interestingly enough, magazines have a slight edge in this area and television is weakest. Newspapers should strive to leverage some of the natural potential strengths of print media to help build the reputation for fairness and accuracy.
Engaging the Audience:- A second important weakness for the newspaper industry is relatively weak performance on reader engagement. Television, radio and magazines all score higher on reader engagement. Interestingly, magazines enjoy a lead by a narrow margin. The high scores of magazines suggest that print can indeed have a powerful pull on readers.
Depth/Seriousness of Purpose:- None of the print media match audience expectations for depth or seriousness of purpose. Magazines have a slight edge over newspapers in this area.
Enjoyable and Relaxing:- In addition to being less likely to have established a personal "connection" with its readers, newspapers are less likely to be seen as relaxing or enjoyable and entertaining.
Some weaknesses:-
· the high cost of advertising space
· possible distortion (dilution or exaggeration) of information during editing
- communication is generally one-way (letters to the editor and talk-back radio overcome this to a limited degree)
- added headlines or leading paragraphs may not support the main message.
OPPORTUNITIES
· Creativity
· Collaboration
· Graphic Communication
· Renovation
· E-ink Technology
· Podcasting
Collaboration or partnering includes:- Structural, Content and Broadcast Partnering.
Structural:-
• TV and newspaper staffs work on beats together
• Share central news desk
• Newspaper reporters write for TV
• Ad reps sell packages of TV time and page space
• Have multimedia editors
Content:-
• Staffs share source information
• Break newspaper stories on TV
• TV and newspaper cross promote
• Newspaper staff provides story content for TV
• TV staff provides story content for newspaper
• Plan news packages together
Broadcast:-
• TV broadcasts from newspaper newsroom
• Newspaper staff gives reports on TV
• Staff receives training in convergence
E-ink:- Electronic ink (E Ink) consists of millions of microcapsules in the size of a hair, containing white positive and black negative magnetic particles floating in a clear liquid. These white and black particles appear depending on electrical fields being positive or negative. This gives the look of black ink on paper, the contrast is as good as on printed paper and no background light is needed, leading to high readability. An electronic display is created by printing the E Ink on thin, plasticized paper-like sheets which thereafter is laminated with circuits. It is possible to apply E Ink on different materials such as glass, plastic and paper since the technology is not bound to a particular carrier.
This technology gives sharpness six times higher than an ordinary LCD display. The contrast is as good as on printed paper and no background light is needed, leading to high readability. The power consumption is very low since power is only needed when updating since the image on the display remains when the power is turned off. The e-paper technology is rapidly developed and a thin, flexible display has been developed by Philips.
THREATS
· Internet Advertising
· Downsizing
· Ethics Scandals
· Consolidations
· Outsourcing
· Technical Challenges
· Desktop Publishing
· Growing issues of CSR
Over the past decade agency print managers have had to contend with numerous business challenges including internet advertising, consolidation, downsizing, ethics scandals and outsourcing, as well as widening array of technological advances such as digital proofing, desktop publishing, digital printing etc.
Such challenges are likely to persist, in the years ahead. The print managers will be challenged by growing number of new issues related to corporate social responsibility in advertising and to the sustainability of print media.
There are many perspectives of CSR, and numerous efforts are being made by International Standards Organization (ISO) working group to develop a CSR standard.
For readers, the major problem with print media is that it doesn’t address all of the ways they want to get information. They still like to read magazines, but increasing numbers of people like e-mail newsletters, blogs, RSS feeds, Web sites, and even special events or conferences.
Future
v What is future of print media?
v How will it make money?
v Do we really trust this internet?
v From where will journalism come?
THE FUTURE OF NEWS IS
· Bigger, global
· Accessible any time, any place,
· Through any device
· Transparent
· Participatory: a conversation, not a lecture
· Edited for more, not less
· Funded through a variety of services and access points
· Reliant on social entrepreneurship
· Authentic. Trust is the new trust
THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS IS
· Smaller in staff, format, influence, attention, profits and margins
· Specific or niche, no longer mass
· Downstream from the Internet
· Inexorably linked to other media
· Explanatory, investigative and narrative
Driven by shifting customer behaviors, the media landscape is changing at an unprecedented pace. Fundamental changes are reshaping the media environment and are sending waves of disruption throughout the industry.
Despite declining circulation, the daily paper still produces cash flow that many other industries eye with envy. The core content produced by newspapers is the basis for many of the industry's disruptors. Without newspaper content, there isn’t much news for television to report, bloggers would have less to blog about, and Yahoo! News and Google News would be blank pages, which are supposed to be threat to print media.
The Print Media is likely to require new skills, such as constructing databases of local information, tapping into the “collective wisdom” of people who live in the community and building platforms for communities to form.
Newspaper companies must rethink their revenue equation as well. For generations, display advertising and classified advertising have powered the newspaper business model.
Newspaper companies must help current advertisers and businesses and individuals that don’t advertise address these issues. They must do so by finding ways that better utilize existing mechanisms such as niche publications and special events. They’ll also need to tap into emerging approaches such as paid search, consumer direct, targeted advertising and lead generation.
Newspaper companies shouldn’t approach the innovation challenge alone. There are opportunities for companies to collaborate online in powerful ways, particularly to serve national companies that want to tap into the vast reach of the more than 1,400 local newspapers that collectively reach more than 55 million consumers.
Above all else, newspaper companies must commit to doing things differently, and they must back that commitment with action. Business as usual will not suffice. Cutting costs and hoping the current storm will subside will not work.
Through its findings and initial implementation via the pilot programs, Newspaper Next has demonstrated that through a process for innovation-driven growth, the newspaper industry can not only survive, it can grow and prosper.
In addition, a new force of “citizen” journalists and bloggers is itching to hold politicians to account. The web has opened the closed world of professional editors and reporters to anyone with a keyboard and an internet connection.
The Content Generation creates, produces, participates and shares news and information in the connected society. It captures life as it happens on digital cameras -- currently more than 250 million, by 2008 an estimated 400 million on mobile phones. Content spreads through global networks that allow anyone to post news, thoughts, ideas, and images on the web. The messages resonate and vibrate through multiple mediums shaping always-on lives. Media multi-tasking is the generation’s way to get through the day.
In future some high-quality journalism will also be backed by non-profit organisations. Already, a few respected news organisations sustain themselves that way—including the Guardian, the Christian Science Monitor and National Public Radio. An elite group of serious newspapers available everywhere online, independent journalism backed by charities, thousands of fired-up bloggers and well-informed citizen journalists.
Conclusion
According to a recent report by World Bank the Earth’s population will be 10 billion by the year 2050. About half the people will live in today’s developing countries. There will be ample space and opportunities.
Serving the needs of the billions of people in the developing world will require creating print media for design, production and delivery methods based on new materials, new manufacturing processes, and new approaches to “dematerializing” and “servicizing” print media products. It also requires system thinking and greater investment in the indisciplinary education and training of technologists, business communicators, graphic designers, print production professionals and supply chain managers.
There is opportunity to create new fortunes and a sustainable future for print. There is an opportunity to design, produce and distribute knowledge and goods in a way that manage their lifecycle costs and measure their quality of life benefits and thus increase the value of print media.
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