Print May Be on the Way Out, but Content is Here to Stay
Posted on | March 3, 2010 | No Comments
By Mark Mayfield
Thirty-two years ago I was a senior in college, and editor of my campus newspaper. I wrote editorials and columns on an old manual typewriter, with carbon sheets placed between cheap yellow pulp paper.
Sound familiar? Anyone of my generation can remember a time before computers, before VCRs/DVRS, before cell phones and, of course, before the Internet. Yes, we had running water, and three or four television channels. And, oh, those landline phones worked just fine.
What most of us coming out of journalism schools at that time could not have imagined was the speed with which a centuries-old industry would collapse.
I recently asked X PRIZE Foundation Chairman Peter Diamandis for some perspective. If there is anyone who seems suited to discuss this radical change in technology, it’s Diamandis. He was a leader of the team that won the $10 million Ansari Prize in 2004 for twice successfully reaching space with a privately funded, piloted spacecraft.
Today, his foundation not only offers prizes for innovation in aerospace, it also offers incentives for breakthroughs in automotive, environmental, biological and energy-related research.
“We’re in a period of change where exponentially growing technologies are causing the disruption of age-old industries,” Diamandis said. “Newspapers, part of a multi-century-old industry, are a perfect example of the disruption that’s possible.”
For those of us caught up in this, it might seem like the sky is falling. But the truth is that every industry sooner or later goes through a period of radical change. In our case, it doesn’t mean the death of journalism. After all, journalism was never about newsprint. It was, and is, about content. It’s the distribution system that has changed—forever.
At the end of the 19th Century, teleGRAPH companies had to evolve into telePHONE companies. And radio had the airwaves to themselves for decades before TV literally appeared on the scene. After that, the three big TV networks enjoyed a few nice decades until cable television came along. Remember when cable TV was marketed solely as a means to a clear, better picture on your set? Then, Ted Turner figured out you could use the same technology for programming and, suddenly, cable networks started springing up everywhere.
Yet, somehow, the demise of print media truly seems different. We’re talking about going from something you can hold in your hands, namely a newspaper, magazine or book, to something you scroll through on a computer screen.
Peter Diamandis’ advice is simply to embrace it and try to move on: He argues that the technology which has led to so many layoffs in the print industry is also the same technology that can “solve our biggest problems if we focus people in the right direction.”
Back in 1978, when I was editing The Crimson White at the University of Alabama, I had no way of knowing there would someday be a search engine called Google that could open up more information at my fingertips in seconds than I could find in a lifetime of searching through libraries. That kind of technology has empowered all of us in ways we could never have imagined.
Yet, techno experts like Peter Diamandis have never been out there reporting a story that readers, viewers or listeners depend on. The problem is: These changes are happening so fast that the journalism itself—the very reason these companies exist—is suffering. The shift from print to Internet sites is not supported financially, so most of the journalists who are being laid off at newspapers and magazines are not finding similar jobs online.
Who then, will provide the content into the future? If there are no reporters on the ground in Afghanistan reporting on the war, for instance, then what version of the “news” will we get back home? Will media organizations simply pass along press releases from the Pentagon?
My guess is that sooner, not later, this will be sorted out. News websites will eventually figure out how to make a profit (and some already have). To be sure, websites will hire younger journalists who don’t require major salaries. But eventually, the news-based websites (and the young reporters) will mature and things will be back on track. It’ll just be a much different track than the one many of us rode in on.
That’s not to say that those of us who have spent our careers in this industry should now suddenly go look for an old folks home, find a rocking chair, and keep quiet. No way. We’re not done yet.
It’s one thing recognizing, and accepting, that the glory days of print journalism are over. It’s another thing sitting back and watching as inexperienced (and mostly inaccurate) Internet bloggers report rumor and innuendo as news. Veteran journalists are needed to offer insight, judgment and perspective in this transition from print to online. And the last I heard, there was no age limit on reporting.
It’s just that the pay scale is not going to be anywhere near what it was at print publications, at least not anytime soon. But solid reporting, writing, and editing are just as valid now, or at least should be, as they were 20 years ago. And there are many more outlets for content than there ever have been.
My suggestion is to find your place somewhere inside this new technological world. Reach out to as many news, entertainment, and lifestyle sites as you can. You may have to volunteer at first, but keep in mind that eventually there will be money where there is none now. That’s the way it works in times of great change. Many displaced journalists may be forced to find jobs outside the industry. Some will go back to school and start new careers. But I believe there is hope for those who refuse to give up.
And try your hand at a book or two. (I’m working on two now.) To be sure, your book may end up on a Kindle or a tablet, instead of bookstore shelves. Either way, the reward is most often in the writing.
Cheers!
Mark Mayfield is a former editor-in-chief of four magazines, including House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Southern Accents and Art & Antiques. He also served for 10 years as a reporter and Atlanta bureau chief at USA Today, and for two years as a reporter for United Press International. He is the author of two books, including The Spaceflight Vault: A History of NASA’s Manned Missions (Whitman), due out this May, and Southern Style (Bulfinch, 1999).
Tags: Adapt > Career > Change > future > journalism > layoffs > newspaper > Print > Profit > Reinvent > Reporting > Technology > Websites > Writing
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