by Erich Heinlein

Created on: March 01, 2010   Last Updated: March 31, 2010

The reason the Internet is killing print journalism is  the same reason TV news initially killed print journalism. You don't have to pay to get the news (unless you are watching TV on a Cable network such as CNN or Fox News of course) and the news being consumed is likely to be up to the second, not just within the last 24 hours or the last time the last edition of the paper came. However, one trend a lot of newspapers are heading toward is using video and audio clips on there web pages to help produce news. For a society that constantly demands everything instantly and cheap the Internet is the perfect solution for most people. They can get news with the simple click of a button at no cost.

So what is the problem you ask? The problem is not for the consumer but for the newspaper business. A lot of newspapers often have allowed the print version of their newspaper online for free. The problem is everybody has started reading the newspaper that way. Yes, creating a web site with multiple forms of media comes at a cost and there is no other new ways newspapers can create revenue other than increase their advertising.  Print news organizations makes their profits primarily in two ways: Subscribers and advertising. So this leaves Editors with a challenge. Find and create new ways to make a profit to help support what the public wants.

The biggest challenge for Editors nowadays is creating a product that will allow its readers to view the content online and still make a profit. Obviously, you can say well have more online advertisers. .Although there are two major advantages to online journalism that print journalism does not contain: 1. If you make a mistake you can go back into the site of the story and fix it. 2. Print journalism can now keep up with TV in terms of TV news when it comes to getting a story first. What most newspapers will do nowadays is have the story immediately posted online so they can say they reported it first and then the story which comes in with all the details will appear in the next day's paper.

Although while in a sense, the Internet is killing print journalism, the Internet has also transformed the way print news is delivered and how dare one suggest the Internet has even made print journalism better. How? Not only can print organizations beat the local TV stations to stories they even have more ways of producing news beyond just stories, pictures and graphics. With the age of the Internet you can use just audio, just video or both. Or you can do just a regular article and picture. While TV stations could theoretically write articles without airing them it would not make any sense. However, in a sense with the newspaper business going to the Internet and creating multiple forms of media to produce their content they have officially trumped every other form of media. Now if they can find a new way to make a profit.

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