Food for Thought

Both readings focused on the numbers of print media vs. digital media and it's obvious that print media is still outdoing online news, and will continue to do so for awhile. Iris's theory that online goods are inferior goods (like ramen noodles) is probably true - right now. Newspapers (on average) still haven't figured out how to really make news successful online.

After our discussion in class on Tuesday, and the data shown, I began to think about print vs. digital media a little more deeply. Like Bryna I also enjoy reading book, actual physical books and I also don't share that same affinity for print newspapers. So why is it? If I'm being honest I'd rather read news online because generally I'm only reading one story at a time.
There is no denying that print only is not sustainable for Newspaper companies, but they don't need to rush themselves into the purely digital age, that much is clear. Picking up the morning newspaper and reading it is a habit for many people, it's a part of their daily routine. Just as watching the news when you get ready in the morning is a habit. But as people's tastes change, online news has to find a way to work it's way into people's morning routine, otherwise news sites are going to be in trouble. This journalist came to the same conclusion.

The American Press Institute released this study in 2015 about how millennials are consuming news, and how much news they are consuming. This goes a bit into the information surplus, but for the most part their findings are encouraging. People from the age of 18-35 are encountering news at least once a day, and often more than that. The study also says that for 13 out of 24 news topics surveyed - Facebook was the No. 1 jumping off point and the 2nd for 7 others. According to this study millennials search for news when they want more information on a topic. And even though online news might not be competing with print - this study says that 82% of millennials report consuming their news from online sources. Keeping up on what's going on around the world ranks 3rd in what they do online. All that to say there is clearly a want for news. Newspapers just have to figure out a way to make online work for them, and contrary to what they might think, they've got the time to do it.