Thursday, October 25, 2012

Digital Publications – Shaping the Future of Media



By: Angela Raleigh, Account Executive, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.

I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve picked up a copy of Newsweek, or any magazine or newspaper, and read the latest news. If you’re someone who likes holding magazines in your hands and being able to turn the pages, you might want to make sure you get a copy of Newsweek before the end of the year. Newsweek has announced that the final print edition will be on stands on December 31…after that the magazine will be available exclusively in digital format.

The world of media is vastly different than just a few years ago and will continue to evolve. More information than ever before is now available in the palm of our hands or at the click of a button. With an increased use of tablet computers, it’s no surprise that there is a shift toward digital publications. We used to read from books and now digital books are becoming the norm. The tablet is a natural platform for reading and now that they are in color and come in higher resolutions, they are a perfect match for magazines.

Of course when you are digital, there are other advantages including bringing video to the publication and making it interactive. For Newsweek, going digital will allow them to publish news instantly, which they probably were doing with their online edition now, but that was not doing their print edition readers any good.

Truth be told, we are so connected to our mobile devices today that I am sure a good percentage of people get their news from their smartphones and tablets or from Facebook and Twitter. With every interactive update of sharing news stories, information is sent faster and reaches more people around the world. But even with a shift towards digital publications, many still rely on traditional media outlets as a primary news source. It’s hard to deny the growing use of tablet computers for reading books, newspapers and magazines, but we can’t forget the importance of our roots. The skills and attributes of traditional media are still just as valuable as they’ve ever been in successfully communicating and receiving a message.

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