What’s Gonna Happen To Print?
Let me preface this post by saying I take no pleasure in the demise of an industry. When businesses fold, people lose jobs and the results can be devastating to the individuals and families involved.
That said, the reality is, print is in big big trouble. I wanted to draw your attention to a blog post that was written yesterday. It’s an interesting post, and while I agree with it’s content, that content in and of itself is not the interesting part. It’s the “what was written” coupled with the “who wrote it” that makes it fascinating to me. John A. Byrne, Founder of C-Change Media Inc is the blog post’s author. Now, maybe you haven’t heard of Mr. Byrne so let me give you a little bit of his resume. Until recently (and by “recently” I mean yesterday), he was the editor-in-chief of Business Week where he wrote 58 cover stories. He’s also held the position of editor-in-chief of Fast Company. In the print world, I would think that this guy has some “street cred”, and that he would be seen as a thought-leader.
So, why is this titan of print walking away from such a prestigious position to start his own company? You can read his whole post here, but bulleted out below are a few key quotes from Mr. Byrne:
- I passionately believe that the future of media is digital.
- Most of traditional media remains in a complete meltdown, dragged down by high costs, old ways of thinking, and legacy work processes.
- Print advertising will never come back.
- Users will not pay for content, unless they’re convinced it has immediate and tangible value. Very little journalism meets that standard today.
Obviously, that last bullet is one that Rupert Murdoch would disagree with (personally, I fall on Mr. Byrne’s side of the fence on this one), but what do you think? What’s going to happen to print? Will future generations see magazines the way I view the 8-track? Do you still spend on print and if so, why? Do you spend more on print than on interactive? I’d love to get your thoughts and insights below.
Tags: Business Week, Fast Company, John A Byrne, Print Media, rupert murdoch
Wow, those are some heavy bullet-points from Mr. Byrne. I think I need to agree that print mass media is going to continue melting-down. “Legacy work processes” needs to be coupled with “legacy thought processes.” I don’t think people have fully discovered a new way of thinking about and presenting media. Changes are coming and people will still pay for content, but a new biz-model needs to be created. Gonna be an interesting time ahead. I don’t think print is going completely away, but it is definitely not going to be the major way that info is distributed. Good luck to us all!
I do spend some on print yet, mainly when I travel. I don’t spend nearly as much as I used to. I would be willing to pay for a subscription to an online magazine. Things are changing and we’re all playing catch-up. Though print is shrinking, I don’t think the proper digital-venue has been created yet, so there is a whole lot of limbo going on.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:15 amHey Troy –
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree, a new biz model is needed, and I think it’s going to come from an outsider… Just like apple changed the music industry, and the phone market, someone with a fresh perspective and a fresh way of doing business will come along and change things. There’s too much money to be made…
As for paying for content online, or paying for articles online… I don’t know many in their early/mid 30′s and younger that does… and if they do, they’re an anamoly. Doesn’t bode well for the future of that business model.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:27 am