Monday, September 24, 2007

Old Media, New Media

Wikipedia says...

The old media or legacy media are traditional means of communication and expression that have existed since before the advent of the new medium of the Internet. Industries that are generally considered part of the old media are broadcast and cable television, movie and music studios, newspapers, books and most print publications. Many of those industries are now less profitable than they used to be and this is has been attributed to the growth of the new media.

This division between the new and old media is a hot topic on talk radio. Which seems ironic to me, as radio is an older form of media than TV, and yet they seem to fall in with the "new" media crowd.

I bring this up because of another blurb I read in Christian News (decidedly an OLD media publication). CN reprinted an article from a Roman Catholic publication under the title, "Internet and Blogsphere (sic) Threaten Publications". The RC publication comes to the obvious conclusion that the "print era is drawing to a close" and "magazines... are having a hard time surviving".

CN then adds an editorial comment:

Some spend so much time with their computers that they don not have time to read newspapers and magazines. They believe all they need to know about what is going on in the church and world can be found on the internet. Publications like Christian News, according to them, are no longer necessary. Readers will have to judge for themselves if they find all of the information CN publishes each week on the internet.


I suppose I just find it fascinating to watch the Old Media react to the New. There seems to be some antagonism.

Personally, I read less in print and more on the screen every day. I watch less TV and get more news and information from the net every day. I still pick up magazines and books, and I don't think they will ever completely go away. But I don't rely on them nearly as much as I used to.

And, quite frankly, most of what I find worth reading in CN, I already HAVE read on the internet. Most, but not all.

3 comments:

Doorman-Priest said...

Greetings from the U.K.

I tend to think that the market will determine the future of these publications. Some of them are actually just not very good, are old fashioned and aimed at a decidedly conservative, middle aged, middle class market - well, here at least.

The future may well be in cyberspace and they need to look at other ways of getting their message out there. Personally I learn more from blogs than I do from The Church Times.

Pax Christi
D.P. (4.20 pm GMT)

Dr. Luther in the 21st Century said...

No more news-ink fingers for me, thank you.

I will be frank I prefer the internet because it allows me to cut through the chafe and actually learn about the things that matter, no more prattling about Brittany.

Anonymous said...

Brittany? Noooo! Tell me about Brittany.
D.P.