Saudi Gazette Many parts of the world are seeing a rapid change in the news industry where the print media, especially newspapers, are declining due to profit loss. This is mainly caused by the advancement in digital technology such as smartphones and Wi-Fi. As social media is gaining ground to a new level and as alternative journalism is rising, the value of print is decreasing sharply. This common trend portrays that people are interested in reading but no longer patient enough to buy a newspaper when they can also easily get information in 140 characters with more images on their smartphones. This leaves the print media in a whole new spot. Many newspapers are going through a rough time where they are trying their best to adapt to the digital revolution. Some newspapers in the West have already stopped their print edition and switched to online only platform, whereas some newspapers across the world have integrated web in order to survive. The reputable news organizations get a good feedback on their social media platforms but the smaller competitors are suffering and they need to catch up. Due to this constant fear of web creeping into their domain, many discussions have been taking place on the future of print journalism. It is a fact that the future of print media does not look bright. The digital transformation is a reality and it is happening now. The youth are practically living in a digital age trying to consume data electronically as much as possible. However, a general conclusion cannot be made; the question, "Does print journalism have a future in the digital era?" still remains. Saudi Gazette caught up with 12 journalists from different countries and explored the trend in each of their home countries. Sudhanshu Bisen, Sports Journalist at The Hitavada, India People in India have shown their faithfulness toward print and hence it continues to have a good grab in the market. The future looks good. The web is slowly spreading its wings but it still remains for a slotted audience in India. There are apps like News In Short that have shown tremendous growth but Indians still prefer a cup of tea and a newspaper to start their day. Kirsten Han, Freelance Journalist & Writer, Singapore I think print journalism will remain strong for quite a while longer in Singapore. The Straits Times, for instance, is the only English-language general news broadsheet in Singapore. It's also got a significant web presence, but essentially doesn't have that much competition. I do believe that the web has posed a challenge to the mainstream media in terms of content though because it's harder to regulate the online platforms. There is a growing number of alternative websites covering current affairs and social commentary in Singapore. Ivett Korosi, Journalist & Editor at Nepszabadsag, Hungary I'm not too optimistic. I definitely think the web is taking over print in Hungary. The members of the 50+ generation buy newspapers, but the younger generation gets information from the Internet as they want it quick. Even if people have to pay for the content, they would still prefer the online sources. So I think in the next 20-30 years, it won't be financially feasible for the publishing houses to continue publishing newspapers. I guess they will still publish a limited edition, maybe for collectors, but they will focus all their energies and resources on their websites. Tanya Ileto Diaz, Freelance Business Writer, Philippines In my opinion, most Filipinos get their news electronically these days — whether it's on a news website like Rappler, informal news blogs like Coconuts Manila, or, unfortunately, Facebook and Twitter. With younger readers gravitating towards the web, I feel that print journalism will become redundant, and in some ways it already is. Most small-time newspapers these days target niche readerships: businessmen, investors, key policy makers.... Eventually the ease and accessibility of electronically delivered news will displace the need for broadsheets, which will probably still be in circulation but again for a very niche market. Laura Hui Fan, TV News Program Assistant, Taiwan I do think the web is totally taking over the print, at least for the newspapers in Taiwan. But the iconic newspapers remain with their reputation, as people still trust them and rely on them to choose the most important stories. Their online articles often serve as a kind of news source. And big papers have more advertisers to remain publishing in print. However, the digitizing trend is still unstoppable. Seung-mok Oh, Freelance Journalist, South Korea South Korean online media rarely attract their audience directly to their own website. The online media contents are posted on the portal websites such as daum.com and naver.com where people search for news. In this regard, South Korean media hardly have any online competence to attract the audience. Like elsewhere, the print media also are rapidly losing its readers. Cathy Li, Journalist at Jinling Evening News, China Web has a great impact on print media. To solve this problem, print journalism in China has been involved in the new media, for example, few years ago, we used to finish writing in the afternoon and wait until the next day for the newspapers to get published and reach our readers, whereas now, as soon as we finish writing for the print, news release would first meet our readers through mobile apps like we chat and famous news websites like sohu, sina. Rawikarn Ja Dechdi, Freelance Journalist & PR consultant, Thailand The newspapers still play a good role in Thailand. They also get a good response on their digital media platforms, which in turn help the newspapers to survive. However, magazines are now stopping their print edition due to the less number of purchasers and ad buyers. Obviously, the social media platform of these magazines is doing well. The print media in Thailand are maybe investing more on digital platforms but that doesn't mean the web is taking over print, it means that the print will co-exist with the web but in a very less number than in the past. Giovanni Ortolani, Freelance Multimedia Journalist, Italy Reports say that the crisis of the Italian newspapers began in 2000 when people started using Internet as a source of news. It got even worse in 2008 when mobile Internet access became widespread. As a result, in the past 8 years, 1 out of 3 Italians stopped buying newspapers every day. While 58.2% of the Italians believe the web is a reliable source of information, only 53.5% of them believe print is a reliable source of information. I find it interesting that 17.6% of the Italians trust the information they find on the Internet, but not what they read in the press. It looks like the web is taking over print. Still, I believe print plays a crucial role in shaping the public debate, and providing accurate news and analysis. Calum Stuart from UK, Journalist at Thomson Reuters The future for print media in the UK doesn't look promising. The readership for just about all the major nationwide newspapers in Britain has been on a steady decline for almost a decade, as more of the population becomes accustomed to consuming their news online. Local papers have also been hammered in recent years. Hence, the print media are constantly brainstorming ways to adapt and evolve to the online surge. For example, The Independent ceased their print edition recently and shifted to digital only platform. I have heard that this can also happen to The Guardian in the future. Generally speaking, the web is taking over print, so the future of the UK's newspapers will be in a smaller, niche market. Kylie Purcell from Australia-New Zealand, News Producer at TVNZ News Corp heavily dominates the media and news sphere in Australia. It means that News Corp has particular sway over political elections. This is partly caused by a drop in newspaper circulation; too few people are reading for there to be much diversity in newspaper organizations. Whilst smaller alternative print sources can't compete, there's been some alternative media popping up online — notably ‘Crikey.' In my opinion, there's a future for print in Australia – carried by its online form. Hannane Ferdjani, Journalist/Anchor at Africanews, Africa Alternative journalism is rising in Africa but it's yet to figure out how to turn the sector of digital journalism into a lucrative and viable sustainable outlet. Web is not necessarily taking over print across the continent. Not everyone has access to a high speed Internet connection and therefore, the regular paper remains the most democratized/widespread medium in my opinion. However, in the near future, it is bound to take a bigger place on the media market!
