Vijay Garg
Today amidst the immense popularity and prevalence of electronic and digital media we find it difficult to imagine that there must have been a time when print media was invented. The earliest civilizations relied on oral communication. If there was a news to be told they ran to spread the word to others who did the same finally spreading the news to everyone. After that people began to write the news in picture form and in crude languages where symbols stood for words and letters. And then with the invention of paper and printing press print media came into existence. And after that there was no turning back.
Print media is the printed version of telling news primarily through newspapers and magazines. Before coming of the printing press, printed materials had to be written by hand. It was quite a long process which made mass distribution impossible.
Until a few years ago, print media (newspapers, magazines) was the main source of news and entertainment. But now digital media (websites, apps, social media) is giving a tough competition to print media resulting in debates on the importance of both of them.
Advantages of print media
1. Print media is more trustworthy because once the news is published, it cannot be modified and deleted. But in digital media, we can modify or delete the content. The newspapers and magazine publishers are extra careful when publishing news or articles. So print media is more trustworthy than digital media.
2. Reading print media can save a lot of time because all the content is compiled in a newspaper or magazine.
3. These days all the study and work involve screen time for many. In this situation print media is like a break and relief. Now more and more people want some Digital Detox time. And then print media is super useful for them.
4. When we read newspapers there will be no distractions and we can totally focus on it. It is an advantage of print media over digital media.
5. In some remote areas in India internet access is still very limited. And then print media is a blessing for them to stay updated with the latest happenings around the world.
Disadvantages of print media
1. It is just a one-way communication. It gives information to the public but consumers cannot share their opinions. It’s in a way not user friendly.
2. To search for an old article in a newspaper or magazine archive is a very difficult task.
3. Print media cannot target a specific audience but digital media can show different ads to a different type of audience and thus generate more revenue.
4. Print media is not helpful for people with disabilities. For eg, digital media helps people with visual impairment by giving audio versions of the content.
Advantages of digital media
1. Digital media gives fast updates and keeps us aware and abreast with latest happenings, while print media is a slower version than digital one. It makes digital media a more proper option to get news instantly, in a more hassle-free manner.
2. Digital media is two-way communication. Consumers can share their opinions, thoughts and feedback in an instant. It gives readers a sense of community.
3. It is eco-friendly while print media needs paper got from trees resulting in their destruction on a large-scale level.
4. The famous newspapers are also establishing their own online news portals. It is because of the growing importance of digital media.
5. Small companies can advertise easily on digital media platforms because it is less expensive than advertising on print media.
6. Digital media platforms can generate revenue from old contents too. So they will get more revenue and can invest more to update the quality of content.
7. Digital media is democratic unlike print media which is privatized and often run by big businesses.
8. Smartphone users are increasing rapidly and so many digital media platforms are offering content for free due to advertisements.
Disadvantages of digital media
1. As anyone can generate content easily for digital media, fake news is on the rise. So unless they are famous and have a good name digital media platforms are not trustworthy by the public.
2. Print media publishes only important news. But digital media platforms publish everything small to big so they contain a lot of unnecessary news.
3. Staring at the screen for a long time results in health problems too.
4. Many digital media publish content throughout the day. So people can check for new content always and so people are getting addicted to news and entertainment content a lot too much. It is causing ‘Headline Stress Disorder’ for most of them.
Digital VS Print Media
Today consumers are exposed to a lot of digital media as much as print. There is a growing prevalence of smartphones and tablets and the wireless networks that connect them mean that more and more people view digital devices. It also means more and more consumers view ads on digital devices. For marketing and advertising digital media has many benefits. It can be less expensive than print media depending on the details of each campaign. Digital campaigns can also be produced, launched and updated faster than print. Digital media is interactive in multiple ways. Promotion on social media allows marketers to communicate directly with consumers using messaging, commenting, tweeting, wall posting etc to answer questions and offer incentives. Users are able to search for a digital document. Digital ads allow for more control over who sees than print ads so marketers can target them more easily towards specific demographics. Many digital ads can generate consumer information as well offering insight over who exactly is viewing the ads. For e.g Google AdWords and Facebook Ads offer analysis on user trends and successful referrals generated by the advertisements.
But yes there is a particular charm in print media which can never die out. It offers a more physical, tangible medium to consumers. It engages them on a more personal level and provides old-school charm which cannot be done by digital media. Print ads have a localized presence that’s much harder to achieve by digital media. Signs and banners create attention and help consumers to physically find you. Posters, flyers and other print media can be distributed in a community to help generate exposure and direct consumers to you.
Now if we pop up a question which of the media is better, print or digital we can have a balanced and justified answer—it’s both.
Conclusion
Each medium has unique advantages so a good campaign should incorporate both digital and print media. The best ad campaigns use the right combination of media, depending on market size and scope, demographic targets, products or services on offer, budgetary considerations and other factors. Certain consumers are best reached on digital media but others still prefer print. The right combination of media channels allows best communication with the entire consumer audience and also maximizes the campaign’s return on investment.
Both print and digital media have their own advantages and disadvantages and have a solid user base. So if we consider the present trends the consumers of digital media are increasing at a rapid rate and the share of print media is going down. But it is not exactly dying. With the increasing literacy rates print too is having a stronghold. So we can say that print and digital media are co-existing quite happily.
(The author is retired principal, educational columnist and can be reached at [email protected])
