Thursday, June 04, 2009

The print media - going through the agonies like music


I have just read on Howard Mandel's blog that Jazz Times could be folding. At least Jazz Journal survives, having merged with Jazz Review.
The print media sector is going through the same problems as music has been going through over the last 10 years in trying to adapt to digital and so on.
Initially they have tried to believe that free content will drive advertising revenues. This hasn't happened. It's all about the content really, and can they work out a way for the participants in the digital world to pay?
Then the two can co-exist side-by-side. I still love the feel of paper and look forward to the thrill of opening the morning paper or a new magazine. (Though I don't do it for the same reason as the guy who said that he first opens the Times to see if his obituary is in. If not, then he knows that the day can progress OK.)
How that is to be done, I don't know the answer to. Possibly micropayments, such as buying the individual articles (reviews) where they have the authority. Otherwise indeed all will migrate to blogs. That's OK for reviews , but certainly not good enough for longer thoughtful pieces. Both because of inadequate available investment to spend the time involved to get the topics right.

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