Is print dead, and the future of journalism purely online?

Let’s start with the evidence that the print industry is indeed in severe decline. Research by the Pew Research Centre found that news circulation in the US fell dramatically in 2015, and continues to do so; weekly newspaper circulation fell by 7% from the previous year, and Sunday newspapers dropped by 4%.

In case you thought this was a blip, you can also see a similar change in advertising revenue in printed media; this dropped a staggering 50% between 2005 and 2013, and again continues to follow this trend. Where is this going?

Well, in 2015, AdAge reports that worldwide online advertising revenue stood at $59.6 billion, an increase by 20% on the previous year, another dramatic increase which shows where the paper advertising is going.

Newspaper employment dropped by 10% in 2015  and by a staggering 39% in the past 20 years, which coincidentally is also throughout the spell of the rise of the internet.  While staff are leaving the scene, so are whole newspaper organisations. The Press Gazette says 198 local newspapers closed in the UK since 2005, with only 29 new launches, the North West, Yorkshire and London the biggest sufferers. Johnstone Press and Trinity Mirror closes a joint total of 36 papers.

But for all these negative stats about the print industry actually dead? Well, it is dying. Ofcom figures show that even those who grew up with print over the internet, are now turning away from newspapers; 54% of 55+ year olds read a daily newspaper in 2014, this had dropped to 44% in 2014. And figures for 16-24 year old show that eventually, there will be no demand for print in the next generation, as their percentage droped from 36% to 2% in the same year.

But while online rises and rises, the future of news is not PURELY online. Online journalism is now bigger than print, radio and magazines, but it has a long way to go before it beats TV.

51% of 16-24 year olds consumed TV news daily in 2015, and 86% of 55+ year olds did the same. While the younger category has a higher online news consumption at 59% daily, the older category for online news is still significantly less than TV, at 23%, a difference of 63%.

In conclusion, all current evidence points towards the death of print in the not so distance future, but online will not be the sole provider of news. There is still a bigger demand for TV news.

Bibliography

Barthel, M. (2017). Newspapers: Fact Sheet. [online] Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project. Available at: http://www.journalism.org/2016/06/15/newspapers-fact-sheet/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].

Cox, J. (2017). New research: Some 198 UK local newspapers have closed since 2005 – Press Gazette. [online] Pressgazette.co.uk. Available at: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/new-research-some-198-uk-local-newspapers-have-closed-since-2005/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].

Anon, (2017). Ofcom News Consumption Report. [online] Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/77222/News-2015-report.pdf [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].

Slefo, G. (2017). Digital Ad Spending Surges to Record High as Mobile and Social Grow More Than 50%. [online] Adage.com. Available at: http://adage.com/article/digital/iab-digital-advertising-generated-60-billion-2016/303650/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].

What can publishers do to try to prevent public concern around the ethics of virtual reality?

Virtual reality is fairly new form of immersive journalism that has really took hold of the industry by the scruff of the neck in the past few years, and will continue to tighten its grip in the years to come. Although still a relatively new idea, its already got a whole load of positive and negative views.

But while positives are all good, for example giving viewers a more realistic feel of the environment of the story in question, negatives are what must be sorted if it is to become part and parcel of our daily news consuming lives.

As mentioned in Caroline Scott’s article, if you were to take normal members of the public to a warzone or the site of a terrorist attack, you would warn them before of the distressing scenes they would witness. So with virtual reality the next closest thing to real life, warnings should be introduced before you are immersed in the content, much like on TV news before a report with upsetting images. This gives viewer the opportunity to leave the VR situation before it begins.

Another much more serious issue is VR actually causing health concerns. We know in news reports, you are warned about flashing images for people who have photosensitive epilepsy, so these warning should also be in place before you enter a VR situation. The effects could be much worse, as you cannot simply turn away from a flashing light, say at a press conference or a warzone. People who suffer from heart conditions may also be affected; you are advised not to go on roller coasters when suffering from a heat condition, so this should apply to VR too.

A way to avoid problems in the virtually reality world would be to trial your material before it becomes fully published. Much like a new medical drug or a pilot episode of a TV programme, you need to know how people are going to respond before it enters the public domain. Focus groups and surveys are a good way to find out opinions on content.

Away from health concerns, another ethical problem is the continuous and rising problem of fake news and propaganda. It’s important that stories cover all sides, and while virtual reality is just that, e.g. usually computer animated content, it’s important that we need to know what we are seeing is as real as the actual situation, and that images haven’t been fabricated in favour of the those who create the content.

Somebody is always bound to be unhappy with VR as experiences can be very subjective to each person, but the industry need to do everything they can to remove as many of these problems as possible.

Woodward and Bernstein: The Watergate Scandal

• Rober Woodward and Carl Bernstein from the Washington Post. 
• Watergate building broke into in Washington in 1972, which housed the Democratic National Committee Headquarters.
• Investigated and found that break-in had been organised by high-ranking officials in order to swing the election in Nixon’s favour. Included wire-tapping.
• Part of an extensive scheme of political espionage and corruption.
•  Mark Felt revealed as ‘deepthroat’ in 2005 who had revealed information to the pair.
• Nixon resigned in August 1974 after tapes were released that he had tried to obstruct justice.

FINAL: Assessed General News Story

CYCLE TRACK DEVELOPMENT HALTED AS TRAVELLERS MOVE ONTO SITE

Work has ground to a halt on a £800,000 cycle track development in North Hull, after travellers moved onto the construction site.

The group refused to move after caravans arrived at the Ennerdale Leisure Centre complex on Wednesday afternoon, an area that has previously been used by the travelling community.

It is reported that they gained access to the area after telling workers a horse was on the loose, before the whole group forced their way onto the site when the gate was opened.

Hull City Council responded to the situation saying in a statement: “Work to complete the cycle track has stopped until the unauthorised encampment has cleared the site.

“This is the first track of its kind in the region and we are incredibly disappointed this has happened as there is a real risk damage could occur and delay the completion.”

The new 1km cycle circuit, being joint funded by the City Council and British Cycling, was announced last November with work starting just before Christmas.

On completion, it is set to feature the installation of two nature ponds and a bike-hiring facility to be used by clubs, schools, families and the wider community all year round.

But the track now is not expected to be finished in time for the original date of early May. PBS Construction Ltd, the company behind the building work, tweeted: “Work has now stopped until further notice. The civil legal process has to be followed.”

Angela Sanderson, a regular user of the neighbouring leisure complex, said: “It’s a real shame. I come to the centre every week and it looked like they were making real progress with the track.

“I think the travellers very selfish. There are plenty of other fields they could have pitched up in but they decide to use the one where there is a community project being built.”

Ms Sanderson explained how staff at the centre have been left frustrated on previous occasions when travellers have used the area, leaving large amounts of rubbish behind.

A separate traveller group has also moved onto another site less than a mile away, in the car park of the new £12 million Next store at the Kingswood Retail Park.

The travellers were approached for comment but refused.