by Dennis Schooley

Created on: November 09, 2010

More than half of Americans familiar with digital media predict that newspapers, magazines and network television will be dead by 2030.

The findings of this study are based on the recent 24/7 Wall St. Harris Poll,  which surveyed 2095 online Americans aged 18 years old and older. Fifty-five percent of respondents made such prediction, with 50 percent admitting that they get their news mostly from media sites online.

One in four respondents admitted that the time spent reading newspapers and magazines has declined over the years. In contrast, 1 in 10 respondents admitted spending more time reading news online in the last 12 months.

For years, the traditional media industry has voiced concerns over shrinking readership as online media continue to hog the limelight. Some analysts even offered possible solutions to save traditional media from dying, such as tailoring their content and marketing strategies to match the times.

If you ask those who have known how convenient it is to search and read news online, there are no ifs and buts about it: Traditional media as we know them will be gone from the face of the planet in 10 years.

The 24/7 Wall St./Harris Poll report did say that the age of respondents matter when it comes to media consumption (81 percent of 55 years old and older still preferred traditional print and broadcast media over online sources, while 57 percent of 18 years old and older felt the same way).

Why traditional media are dying

Web business development expert Bruce Marler offered some reasons why traditional media are dying:

-Online options are free.

-Online media offer real-time news. Printing and delivery of newspapers delay the availability of  information; whereas, digital media provide instant gratification.

-Traditional media model requires more money to manage. Bandwidth and servers are cheaper compared to printing newspapers and delivering them.

-Online media offer diverse sources. There are specific sites devoted to national newspapers like the New York Times or weekly news magazines as well as sites that aggregate news.

And then, there’s also the convenience offered by online media. With print media, one has to rummage through several newspapers to get information about a single topic. With online media, however, one can literally read or browse through numerous web pages in one sitting.

The 24/7 Wall St./Harris Poll reported that network television fares better than print media (30 percent of the respondents watch shows

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>