Week One- Is Traditional Media Dying?

Hello World,

I’m Kenya McGill. A graduate student in the Strategic Communications program at Troy University. I’m a native of Georgia and currently working towards my second M.S. degree. I received a B.A. in Communications: Radio/TV from Alabama State University and a M.S. in Human Resource Management from Troy University. This blog will explore my thoughts and findings about strategic communications and emerging media. Every week, I will post my opinions here as I’m tasked to research different topics within the field. I will also include personal experiences from my time as a celebrity blogger and media personality for the podcast, “The Candy Shop”. The purpose of this blog is to go beyond the surface of what we see in media and try to figure why and how some things are the way they are. With the guidance of my professor, I will use this platform to “edu-tain” (educate and entertain) readers who are interested in exploring the world of media. No topic is off limit and no question is a silly question. This blog is about educational and professional growth and I will utilize professional readings and academic documents to support my views and response. Enjoy the blog by visiting KenyaAndMedia.Blogspot.com weekly.

Are traditional media dying?

For many, the surface answer to this question may be yes. After digging a little deeper I’ve come to find that maybe they aren’t dying as much as they are stretching and adjusting to the times. Traditional media formats like newspapers, television stations and radio stations have seen the changes of this world while also providing us insight to the changes. Over the years, the advancement of technology has elevated media from a luxury for the wealthy to something accessible for all. With these advancements, change has not only impacted how these formats operate internally but also how they deliver content to their audience. For many Americans, keeping up with the news is an activity that occurs throughout the day and across different formats, devices, and technologies (American Press Institute, 2014).  At this point, I feel that any outlet that chooses to not shift with the changes wants to be considered dead. For the most part, traditional media outlets are getting the memo and meeting consumers where they are. This comes with ups and downs and hit and misses, but it doesn’t have to lead to the extinction of traditional media while incorporating emerging media.

The numbers are clear and obvious. Yes, there has been a decline in the number of people that utilize traditional forms of media. I don’t believe you can speak of the decline without acknowledging the increase of options people now have for content. The estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) in 2016 was 35 million for weekday and 38 million for Sunday, both of which fell 8% over the previous year. Declines were highest in print circulation: Weekday print circulation decreased 10% and Sunday circulation decreased 9% (Barthel, 2017).

Declining but Still in The Race

In 2012, 49% of U.S. adults reported seeing news on social media. In 2016, a majority of U.S. adults – 62% – get news on social media, and 18% do so often (Gottfried & Shearer, 2016). The need for news platforms are still relevant in today’s times. Without a proper news outlet in place, traditional or emerging, I’m sure things could have been worse in Hawaii when a false missile warning alert was released in January 2018. All formats, old and new, were used to correct the issue and inform residents of the false alarm. This is example of how traditional formats will always be necessary some way, somehow. While the numbers are going down for the traditional way of media, some news media players are rising to the occasion to stay afloat. Just like newspapers had to break down the walls to get readers in its origin, the wall is back up and the challenge is a bit risker, but the reward should be beneficial. In light of the above, any serious effort on the part of publishers to migrate to digital publishing requires an understanding of the Digital Natives — the Generation Xers and Millennials — who grew up in front of all kinds of screens: televisions, computers, Xboxes, iPods, Razrs and, today, Androids and tablets (Newsosaur, 2013).  This group of people holds the future of everything in their hands. Not only should close attention be paid to the activity of this group, the activity of older followers should be acknowledged so that traditional platforms won’t lose one group while trying to gain another group.  News plays a varying role across the social networking sites studied.2 Two-thirds of Facebook users (66%) get news on the site, nearly six-in-ten Twitter users (59%) get news on Twitter, and seven-in-ten Reddit users get news on that platform. On Tumblr, the figure sits at 31%, while for the other five social networking sites it is true of only about one-fifth or less of their user bases (Gottfried & Shearer, 2016).

Conclusion

Traditional media platforms have a new job added to their job of providing news. Staying relevant must be a priority in any office nowadays. Yes, traditional media’s original format is declining but to say it’s dying is too harsh. Media is stretching itself as audiences are stretching themselves from the home, work and their personal lives. Over time, people have been able to sync the things they love or have more access to the things they love. Media must now make the same adjustments be in the places people frequent whether online or physically.  News organizations have to figure out ways of serving a wide range of readers and viewers, and in deeper ways—not merely pitching to either the lowest common denominator or the most affluent (Genachowski & Waldman, 2013).

Sources:

1.       American Press Institute. (2014, March 16). How Americans get their news. Retrieved from https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/how-americans-get-news/

2.       Barthel, M. (2017, June 01). Newspapers Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/newspapers/

3.       Gottfried, J., & Shearer, E. (2016, May 26). News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/

4.       Newsosaur. (2013, February). Why Digital Natives don’t like newspapers. Retrieved from http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-digital-natives-dont-like-newspapers.html

5.       Genachowski, J., & Waldman, S. (2013, August 08). Newspapers Should Be More Like Amazon. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/114251/jeff-bezos-should-run-washington-post-amazon