Is the net taking over print?

The internet has invaded us since 1993 and started out as a tool for communication. Now, the net can perform all types of task such as advertising, online shopping, and even gambling. As how I view it, these are all within the bounds of communication but in a much broader sense. Even traditional medium, namely the newspaper is expanding itself through the web. So where does this leave publishers? According to Mark Day (2005), web users aren't ready to forsake print just yet. One of the research conducted by New Matilda (an Australian newspaper) back in February 2005 discovered that their online subscribers regularly read two newspapers as well as two other types of publications. This clearly shows that readers do not really care how the news is delivered/presented but on how thorough the information is. Schriver (1997) agrees that low information can lead to the lost of interest in the readers.

Another example that print is still the preferred choice is the birth of e-books. Since the creation of this medium, it is still no where near as popular as printed novels. In fact most of the public (excluding web users) are still very much in the dark when it comes to e-books. One can only assume that this device is still way ahead of its time.

The book of tomorrow: the e-book looks more like a game console than a reading material

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Laptop-ebook.jpg

To further attest the importance of print, Sheena MacLean (2005) had quoted Mike Game (chief operating officer of Fairfax Digital), "But new media has not replaced the core attribute of newspapers, which is the ability to analyze and to provide much deeper insight." MacLean (2005) also mentioned that internet poses more of a threat to TV, as cited from Game and Jones (previous managing director and sales director of Yahoo). From that statement, we can safely say that print still has a place in the world (for now).



References
Day, M 2005, Web users aren't about to forsake the printed page, online, retrieved 10 June 2008, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=17&sid=a7454fbf-aa1c-4cdf-9e4b-875e8a0243fb%40SRCSM1


MacLean, S 2005, Print learns to love the web, online, retrieved 10 June 2008, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=17&sid=a7454fbf-aa1c-4cdf-9e4b-875e8a0243fb%40SRCSM1

Schriver, K 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub, New York