By: JB

JB — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:34:51 +0000

Interesting opinion on the relevance of print materials. Have you seen the Deloite & Touche State of Media Democracy Survey (2007)? It clearly concludes that print media is still considered as more trustworthy and more valuable to people of all ages (down to 13 years old) than online advertising or editorials. Equally as important as the ability to link directly to other sources is the fact that online (blogs especially) writers are too often inaccurate and not deeply immersed in the subject matter. Fact checking, a long standing print media standard, is overlooked in many online venues. The Deloite and Touche survey also found convergence in a media preferences survey conducted by emarketer.com. That is particularly notable as emarketer.com is dedicated to propagating online media. The other dimension to consider is historical: New media have never been able to completely replace the older traditional ones. Take photography for example. In the early 1800s painters and illustrators were outraged that the new media was going to make them obsolete. However, look around today. There are more individuals now than ever before who are able to make there living purely off illustration and painting. Not only in the art world but in editorials, magazines, newspapers, books, online animations and a plethora of other outlets. In the 1980s someone jumped the gun and pronounced the death of print. almost 30 years later we’re consuming more print than ever before. In addition to those items; from the perspective of global warming the coal fueled data centers and network servers are quickly becoming one of largest emitters of carbon emissions. Within the next year or so they will have a larger carbon footprint that the entire US paper industry.

Comments on: Scalpel Magazine launches, plus more print vs. online debate

By: JB