10

Jun

Episode #16 – Old Media, New Media

Posted by Jay  Published in Media Driving

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Will old media be killed off by new media? History would seem to indicate otherwise, but what do you think?
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Bill Deys said in June 11th, 2008 at 11:14 am

You hit the nail on the head Jay. These are big companies and while they may not be riding the wave of change they will not stand by and let their business go down the tubes (metaphorically and in the internet tube sense). The culture is changing and with that all media will change, some just faster then others. I don’t doubt that eventually the print version will disappear but the general format will not. As “new media” as I am I still enjoy when I can sit down in the morning with a coffee and newspaper, things like the Kindle may change what I’m holing when I do that but the content will not change much.

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Jay said in June 11th, 2008 at 11:25 am

Thanks Bill, I agree with everything that you’ve said, but I also think there is something intrinsic to _paper_ itself (or to any medium) that even readers like the Kindle won’t entirely replace, and certainly not any time soon.

One of the things I was thinking about was that paper publications might eventually become premium or specialty items, the way that vinyl records are now used primarily by audiophiles and DJs. But I think we’re a MUCH longer way from that given the gap in utility and ubiquity between paper and all-digital media as compared to CDs vs. vinyl.

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Daniele Rossi said in June 11th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

I always chuckled whenever I heard yet someone else claim the end of paper. Like you said, it won’t happen until a digital format which emulates paper comes along. In addition, making it easy to get content on that digital paper is the key. Kind of like podcasting. At present, it’s a little complex to subscribe and listen to podcasts but once it becomes as easy as turning on a radio, we should see it become more commonplace. Though I don’t think it would ever replace any media outlet ;)

I honestly can’t imagine paper books ever going away. Paper lasts a lot longer than technology. At my day job, we keep all the old technology (even OS/2 and old punch card machines) in case we ever need to access those old files. And vinyl lasts a lot longer than CDs.

Another great show, Jay!

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Jay said in June 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

Thanks Daniele! One thing though — I know there are (big) questions about the life of CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, but aren’t pressed CDs and DVDs presumed to last basically forever if they aren’t damaged?

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katherine said in June 11th, 2008 at 6:21 pm

I think you’re right, Jay, in saying that the development of new media doesn’t automatically signal the end of the old, but I did find myself with a question as I listened: So what if some paper-based forms of old media disappear? How much of a hardship would that really be?

Okay, I can’t see myself reading anything but a paper-based book, for a variety of reasons, but I sure would be happy to see those advertising flyers disappear permanently from my front step. I do bookmark the electronic versions for stores I regularly shop at, but advertisers seem hell-bent to make sure I get a paper copy, too.

There are so many other traditional old media paper-based items I’d rather get in new media formats — newspapers, flyers, magazines, things that are ephemeral, easy to digest on-line, and that don’t waste all that paper.

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Dave Delaney said in June 13th, 2008 at 9:35 pm

Jay, I wish you had a K7 number for commenting from the road. Even if you don’t play the message, but just to refer. Just a thought.

This was a great episode. I worked for the Toronto Star, so I have some insight into this. Not to mention I’m a bit of a New Media Monkey myself. :-)

In the next decade or so, I imagine papers will begin to disappear (they already are in smaller markets). Newspapers make their revenue from Classifieds, but they have been replaced by free services such as Craigslist. They also make money from ads, but we all know that ads online are the most trackable, they produce *real* metrics.

As mobile devices become the main way we surf (once that iPhone issue gets worked out in the Great White North), ads will become targeted geographically (not to mention psychographically), this will prove to be incredibly effective.

Now, dipping into the distant future. How’s this one for you?

As the Internet becomes more and more regulated and less hip with youth, printing presses will become cool again. Zines will return to the streets and young people (and geeks like us) will be itching to get our hands on new issues. Perhaps a rebirth of the newspaper will take place after that.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
Dave

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Jay said in June 16th, 2008 at 10:55 pm

Actually Dave, one of my reasons for rejecting the death of newspapers has to do with my time at the Star’s rival, the Toronto Sun. When I worked for Sun Media, I traveled to a number of smaller towns where they run community papers, and to my mind those are actually less likely to die out quickly than the big urban papers because there really isn’t a viable alternative on the horizon… local news online just doesn’t exist in the form it does in the local paper.

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Robin Browne - Looking Good Naked Podcast said in June 17th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Hey Jay,
First, congrats on sparking such great conversation! Second, I second Dave’s K7 suggestion. Actually, I would go one step further with my wishlist… I was listening to you on my iPod in the car and I was imagining a time when cars will be smart enough that I could just say, “Audio comment – Media Driving”, say my comment, and have the car record it and send it off…some day…
Anyway, on the subject of new media/old media, I add my voice to those agreeing with you and support it by referring to one of the trends John Naisbitt identified in his great 1980 book Megatrends. He cited a trend called High Tech vs High Touch that he argued was the phenomenon of people reacting against the cold, impersonal nature of mediated communication by returning to more tactile experiences like feeling the newsprint when reading a newspaper or reading a book. It’s true for me. I far prefer to read hardcopy newspaper articles because I like the feel, look, and smell of nicely folded articles I can quickly stash away in my brief-case when I reach my bus stop…

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Robin Browne - Looking Good Naked Podcast said in June 18th, 2008 at 9:53 am

Man, this topic got me thinkin’. So, some more thoughts and questions related to my comment above…
Megatrends was released almost 30 years ago before technology got “social”. So will the new tech socialness be enough to satisfy folks’ “high touch” needs? Or will it have no effect because “high touch” is more about people’s personal interaction with technology (a “real” book vs an e-book)? Will it vary from person to person, culture to culture?
Yesterday I heard an interesting story on the Radio Canada podcast, Carnet Techno, about technology – in this case, video/audio on demand – leading to less interaction among people on planes. It seems that since people can now choose from 100s of hours of programming on demand, they interact with the flight crew, and no doubt each other, far less. Not much “high touch” rebellion in the “friendly” skies…

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