With the Internet and all the hype surrounding it, people sometimes forget the important role of traditional magazines and newspapers. However, to forget about this important media is not only foolish but is extremely detrimental as well. In this article, we will discuss the role of news and magazines. Let’s begin.
To understand the role of magazines and newspapers involves having some insight into how these documents are put together. Magazines and newspapers are put together by advertisers and editorial staff members with a particular audience and demographic in mind. In essence, they specifically target specific audiences, people with certain educational backgrounds and interests. They then create articles and advertisements with pertinent information that is most appropriate to a particular audience. The role of the news and magazine staff is vital to appropriately targeting certain readers with specific criteria. For instance, only certain people with an interest in finance and world affairs read certain papers, like the Wall street Journal. On the other hand, a different type of person reads the Inquirer so the targeted audience for these would be different.
In contrast, this role is evidently missing from many web sources because trillions of people visit the internet every single day. And, although most webmasters and business owners with a strong web presence, have a specific targeted audience in mind, they often can’t target audiences with specific backgrounds, interests, financial background, etc. For instance, if a webmaster uses Google ads as its primary advertising method, they often can’t target the specific types of ads that are showed whereas news and magazines can.
In addition, magazines and newspaper staff play a vital role in their ability to quickly aggregate vital information and present it within the appropriate context. Another difference is that a newspaper is far more amenable to someone who doesn’t have access to the Internet. Although electronic reading devices do exist there is still something to be said for being able to bring the compactness and richness of an actual paper magazine or newspaper with you on the bus or on a plane and to have content that has been selected by an editor who understands people like you.
Lastly, understanding the role of magazines and news involves understanding how the electronic revolution has evolved over time. Magazines have not stood still and today they offer rich websites and documents that can be read on e-readers. They understand attention spans are much shorter these days and information overload is a very real problem and so they have developed RSS feeds to develop on demand updates to a user who is just interested in scanning the headlines. The publishers of these documents understand they must continue to evolve and the smarter ones are embracing the new technology as a source of new business and as a mechanism for differentiation.
In conclusion, the role of magazines and news is still very important and very strong in today’s Internet age and will continue to be so in one form or another. Therefore, by understanding this media and taking advantage of its vast richness and purpose, you can reach a whole new world of readers. Good luck!
