Print Media Declines, but is it Dead?

Online content is gaining ground, aided by the release of e-readers like the iPad, and it has hurt some print publications; but others are going strong, and three-quarters of consumers say they don’t want print media to disappear entirely.

Most media leaders concur that print media is floundering. Trends in technology, communication and markets reflect that fact (Steve Jobs just ushered in the next wave of online content readers with Apple’s iPad). An entire genre of journalism seems to have emerged just to cover the decline, not only in print but online. According to the New York Times, sixty-two percent of journalists think the Internet has forever altered their profession’s principles, eroding the standards of good journalism and the relevance of print publications alike. Still, new data from FGI Research indicates that print may yet have an audience. While 67% of consumers surveyed say they see a decline in the use of print versus other types of media to stay informed, 74% say they “would not prefer that online publications eventually replace print publications ...

Social Media Makes Impact on Global News Feeds

Turn on the news and you can see footage from YouTube. Most media outlets not only have websites but corporate blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter presence. As an example of how social media impacts the news, the June 16 coverage of the Iranian election dominated the discussion on Twitter. Twitter, a real time social media platform, is, according to the NY Times, “one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet.” According to data collected by FGI Research on June 28, 2009, 20% of Americans currently have an account with Twitter. Which begs the question: Does Twitter have a big enough credible presence to affect the news?

Consumer Opinion on Social Media

FGI Research has concluded that 51% of Americans believe that Social Media sites, like Twitter, affect the news. National news networks like CNN or FOX news use Twitter regularly to report how the country feels about different topics. Social media is an interactive forum that makes it quick and easy to generate immediate feedback. It is a quick, convenient barometer for the media to interpret the ...