In the age of the internet are magazines doomed?
Doomed? Not necessarily, but a decrease in revenue for magazine
companies has steadily been increasing over the past few years. I believe that eventually
all types of print media will become obsolete, however that time isn’t in the
near future. Magazine will only be doomed if newspapers die first. For now,
access to magazines has become somewhat of a hybrid, as they are available both
in print or online. However, both cost money, so the company won’t lose much
profit if they were only available online. Companies would in fact save money
because they no longer have to spend money on the products used to physically
make the magazine. Advertisers will still be able to advertise, they can
provide more advertisement by using pop-ups online which force people to notice
the product.
Some magazines offer the same substance both online and off, but
making it free to view online. Many may think this is bad for the magazines profits;
however they break even, as advertisers are able to increase their exposure.
This shows that no matter what happens to the print magazine niche, the
companies themselves won’t be affected much.
One of the benefits of online magazines is the fact that content
can constantly be updated. If a story is developing, the facts that are
currently known can be published without knowing the entire story. As more
facts surface, the story can be updated accordingly. This way, magazines aren’t
risking the entire “you heard it hear first” effect.
Another great benefit of the internet is interaction. Many, if not
all magazines allow its readers to interact with the writers, by posting comments
on the story, whether it be positive or just constructive criticism. Websites
can also fulfill the aspect of interaction
by having polls, concerning topics that interest the readers. This is in the
magazines interest because if people see that the magazine makes efforts to be
suit the reader, they keep coming back.
The internet also allows for more forms of communication and the
allowance of more space. This allows for videos to be watched, which is often
easier to comprehend than print. Also, videos allow for more emotion to shine through,
captivating the reader even more. Even simpler
than video, is purely a greater influx of pictures and words. More words
allow the reporter to pass more information to the reader. A larger amount of
pictures will help fill in all the gaps left by the story.
So, magazines aren’t doomed, YET. But today there is a
wealth of knowledge at our fingertips and without too much effort one can
become informed on just about anything happening in the world. The Internet is
leading the way in the civilized world of new information.
