Week 12: Clear/The Fall of Print Media

I chose to write my blog about an article that I read in chapter 9 of the textbook entitled "Will Widespread Wireless Broadband Connections Kill Print Media?"  The reason I chose this article is because I am a Journalism major, and the direction that technology is going effects me directly, in terms of my future career.  As mobile devices become increasingly popular, people are going to newspapers and magazines less for their news and entertainment.  When faced with the choice of purchasing a newspaper or accessing their favorite newspaper online for free, more people are beginning to prefer the online version. 

The basic content of the article talks about how airlines around the world recently started offering Wi-Fi hot spots on some flights.  Communications companies also began offering WiMax coverage throughout entire cities.  With the proliferation of high-speed wireless Internet access, some experts believe that the end is near for print media.  The traditional airport and city newspaper and magazine stands' days may be numbered, since it is now possible for travelers to choose from thousands of searchable publications on their mobile devices while travelling.  Even the morning newspaper delivery is at risk as more people choose to use mobile devices to access wirelessly their favorite newspapers from home.

While researching this topic online, I came across an article that further supports the notion that the end of print media is near.  Ryan Chittum, a former Wall Street Journal reporter now writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, wrote that McGraw-Hill sold BusinessWeek for between $2 million and $5 million. Yet in 2000, BusinessWeek was valued at $1 billion.  When asked for an explanation of this, he stated "So there's your new emblem for the fall of print.  That decline in value happened for the most part not because its readers abandoned it--circulation (rate base) dropped about 20 percent at that time-- but because its advertisers did."  McGraw-Hill invested about $20 million over the past two years. BusinessWeek losses in 2009 were more than $40 million on revenues of about $130 million. Ten years ago it had an operating profit of $100 million.

BusinessWeek is a great example of a newspaper that is failing due to the increase of technology within mobile devices.  The New York Times is also facing major financial difficulties.  For now, newspapers are holding on, but I have a feeling that the decline in profits will continue throughout the next several years.

Website cited:  http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2009/10/businessweek_se.php