The decline and ultimate death of printed newspapers have been widely discussed for years. As online news takes over and the popularity of digital media continues to increase, many print media companies face turmoil. Redundancies and lay-offs within the print media sector are commonplace news as the world transitions to a more digital way of consuming news, but will printed newspapers die out, and if so, when?
Who is in trouble?
Local and daily papers seem to be facing the most difficulty, with sales declining rapidly and cuts, voluntary redundancies and closures becoming rife. Even the nationals may not escape this fate; after all, the Independent has led the way as the first national paper to go online-only. It seems inevitable that eventually the other nationals may follow suit, although they haven’t taken the plunge just yet.
Nationals such as the Sun and the Mail Online are not exempt from the chaos, with their US-based workforces facing sweeping cuts.
A loyal readership
Whilst there has been talk of a printed newspaper die-off for many years, printed newspapers still have a small but loyal daily readership; however, as this pool shrinks, more and more national and daily publications are set to shift their content to the digital-only space, especially as national paper sales have steeply and steadily declined by up to 10% each year. Although it seems we may see the end of printed newspapers within the next decade or so, there is still a small but dedicated readership of printed papers.
Journalists must adapt
As printed newspaper sales struggle and the sector sees signs of collapse, journalists must adapt to the changing landscape; after all, our method of consumption may be changing, but the demand for news is going nowhere. Upcoming journalists, such as those studying for their NCTJ diploma with providers such as https://newsassociates.co.uk/what-is-the-nctj, will pave the way for these changes and must evolve with the digital-only landscape.
It is a fact that the printed news media industry is in trouble, but exactly when we will see the death of the printed newspaper remains unclear.