Digital is growing, print is declining. Newspapers are still selling, but sales are decreasing year-on-year. Print is not necessarily dying, but its role as a vehicle for information is diminishing. Consumer habits have changed and print has merely a bit part to play in media’s future. The question that remains is how journalism will be affected by the so-called “death of print”?
By Ciaran Brennan, Editorial Assistant, Business & Finance
How long has print got left?
Publishers, journalists and consumers have been ringing the death knell for print for decades. It seems we are all waiting with bated breath for print’s final press.
The reality is more boring than that.
It is more likely that print will gradually decline before residing at a certain level awaiting permanent obsolescence. That could be decades away as it slowly peters out.
The ultimate death of print is a long way off. Sales figures will continue to decrease year-on-year but print is not teetering on the precipice.
As long as there are print readers, we will make sure that the print paper is there — Peter Vandermeersch, CEO, Mediahuis
Peter Vandermeersch is the CEO of Mediahuis, a media company founded in 2014 with operations in Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. They are the representatives of a number of Irish publications including the Irish Independent.
Vandermeersch recently said that print has between seven and ten years left in an interview with RTÉ Radio One.
“As long as there are print readers, we will make sure that the print paper is there,” he told Business & Finance.
Vandermeersch is of the opinion that print will become a “luxury item” that people use to shut out the relentless digital sphere and spend some quality time hiding behind a newspaper.
Print copies will be few and far between and it will be more about the experience of feeling the paper itself than the journalism within.
So how far away from this are we?
There is still a market for print according to a recent study conducted by NewsBrands Ireland, a representative body for Irish news publishers which is home to the Irish Times, 2.74 million or 69% of the Irish population read a print newspaper every week.
This does not equate to 2.74 million newspapers sold every week as families, friends and colleagues will share editions.
Print sales are still in reasonable health but the relatively high number of copies sold is going down every year according to Vandermeersch.
“It’s still in decent form, we’re selling more than 100,000 papers on a Sunday from the Sunday Independent, but five years ago we were selling 200,000.”
Due to the increasing prevalence of digital and a surge in the cost of newspaper production, the sale of newspapers has tumbled. It has led to the closure of 17 local newspapers since 2008. According to an article by The Irish Times, the sale of weekly local newspapers has fallen by 50% since 2010.
Print will continue to decline and growth will come from digital. There’s now two ways of getting around that — Colm O’Reilly, COO, the Business Post and Chairman of NewsBrands Ireland
Colm O’Reilly, COO, the Business Post and Chairman of NewsBrands Ireland remains optimistic about the future of print but recognises the diminished role it will play in people’s news diets.
“Across all types of news titles, anywhere between 8 and 10 million newspapers will get sold in a given month. Print still has a role, absolutely,” he said.
“Print will continue to decline and growth will come from digital. There’s now two ways of getting around that.”
A number of people have already placed a time of death beside print’s name which is something O’Reilly doesn’t agree with.
“People say it’s got three years, it’s got five years, it’s got ten years. Nobody knows. I suspect it’s going to be a little bit like vinyl. It will get down to a level and stay there.”
“As long as there’s a demand for print, I think publishers will continue to print.”
What does the obsolescence of print mean for journalism?
It’s not a drama for society. It’s a drama for publishers that don’t adapt. That’s why I’m quite enthusiastic when I see how quickly our digital subscriptions are taking off — Peter Vandermeersch
“Print will die the same way papyrus died at a certain moment in Egypt. We are evolving into a digital society,” said Vandermeersch.
“I’m not wanting the paper to disappear but I’m not mourning the fact that paper is disappearing because it was very restrictive.”
For the Mediahuis CEO, print’s value and importance is overstated.
“People talk about print like it’s some sort of holy grail and it was perfect.”
“Now it’s going down,” he said, “ [people think] society is going down with it. I think my son is now better informed as a reader than when I was 21 and reading three newspapers a day.”
“It’s not a drama for society. It’s a drama for publishers that don’t adapt. That’s why I’m quite enthusiastic when I see how quickly our digital subscriptions are taking off.”
The only issue with this, however, is that readers seem to be reluctant to pay for digital journalism.
According to a Reuters Digital News report published in 2022, 16% of Irish respondents said they had paid for online news content.
Young people are more likely to pay for digital news with 24% of 18-24 year olds, and 23% of 25-34 year olds paying for digital content.
“The willingness to pay for something digital is smaller,” said Vandermeersch.
People are more willing to buy a newspaper than commit to a monthly digital subscription. Print papers also perform better from an advertiser’s perspective than digital according to O’Reilly.
“The recall that consumers get from print advertisers is increasing. In 2010, that was about 46%, the most recent figures for 2020, the recall for print advertising has gone to 77%. That far outstrips what’s going on in digital.”
This incentivises companies to pay for space on a newspaper which helps fund the publication’s work.
For Vandermeersch and company, they are optimistic about a future where print is a supplemental material in a world of digital journalism.
“I see what’s happening and I’m not mourning the fact that it’s disappearing because we’re replacing it with something that is easier and also profitable which we can pay our journalists with.”
“The Belfast Telegraph is a paper in our group where we are selling more digital subscriptions than sold copies of print.”
It will be up to publishers to solve for people’s reluctance to pay for digital. The current tentativeness is not indicative of a future where people refuse to pay for news they read on a screen.
It is more like a teething problem that will need to be ironed out as the digital news landscape develops.
Does the death of print matter?
Print creates a tangible experience for the consumer where they can feel the ink and smell the paper. It is a moment where they disconnect from the humdrum of daily life and get stuck into the nitty gritty of current affairs, politics and cartoons.
The main value of print seems to be the consumer experience — its romantic quality. From a journalistic perspective, romance is not a good reason to sustain a dying medium.
There are some tangible benefits for consumers reading print instead of digital. According to an article by Scientific American:
- It is scientifically proven that it is easier to remember information from paper than a screen
- Constantly looking at screens can cause eye strain
- It is more mentally and physically taxing to read from a screen
O’Reilly is a fan of the print experience.
“Some people just love the feel and smell of newspapers. I am one of those. One of the big advantages is you can take your time. It’s something you can indulge in.”
Print creates a tangible experience for the consumer where they can feel the ink and smell the paper. It is a moment where they disconnect from the humdrum of daily life and get stuck into the nitty gritty of current affairs, politics and cartoons.
“Another advantage is, you don’t miss anything. It allows you to experience the richness of journalism and photojournalism in a different way to the online experience,” said O’Reilly.
Print is not useless, but its USP isn’t as strong as that of digital journalism. As all things, it is a stepping stone in the endless cycle of evolution. Journalism and news have moved on from print, we might as well do the same.
Future-proofing
The “death of print” is an indication of the myriad ways the industry is diversifying. Technology is removing limitations imposed by the rigours of print media.
O’Reilly cited AI, ChatGPT and the metaverse as future elements of digital news.
“There are opportunities to start developing Irish publishers as international brands. If they’re going to invest in [AI, ChatGPT and the metaverse], there’s no reason we can’t compete with some of the world-class leaders. I think Irish publications can compete at that level if they get that stuff right.”
Print will become a treat, an act of “escapism on a Sunday,” as Vandermeersch referred to it. But its use will be purely romantic, and its eventual death should be part of the life cycle of journalism, not the end.
However, the quality of journalism may be in jeopardy if publishers can not figure out how to sell digital subscriptions to consumers that have been slow on the uptake.
Models like Netflix and Spotify may provide a blueprint as to how publishers can continue to sell news and safeguard journalism.
And as long as there is an appetite for news, there will be journalism.
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