Newspapers and magazines have been around for what seems like forever. I remember, in my childhood days shopping with my parents at Walmart. I’d get to the check out and see the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly and I would wonder what those magazines were about, what information they were filled with, and if the pictures were entertaining (after all, kids love pictures). Coming home from Walmart, I’d check the mail and find it stuffed with thinner, less intriguing magazines and advertisements. Walking up the driveway to the house, I’d pass a magazine that had been tossed into the grass by some unknown courier at an unknown time. These are prime examples of how saturated our culture is with print media. With this in mind, how important are magazines and newspapers?
Newspapers and magazines have been around for what seems like forever. I remember, in my childhood days shopping with my parents at Walmart. I’d get to the check out and see the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly and I would wonder what those magazines were about, what information they were filled with, and if the pictures were entertaining (after all, kids love pictures). Coming home from Walmart, I’d check the mail and find it stuffed with thinner, less intriguing magazines and advertisements. Walking up the driveway to the house, I’d pass a magazine that had been tossed into the grass by some unknown courier at an unknown time. These are prime examples of how saturated our culture is with print media. With this in mind, how important are magazines and newspapers?
Magazines
In and article written for BBC.com in August 2017, Steven McIntosh noticed that the sales for gossip magazines were going down, while magazines with news on current political affairs were steadily on the rise. McIntosh states that, "News and current affairs magazines are becoming more popular, but celebrity, gossip, and fashion publications are still struggling." You may wonder why this is. Unsurprisingly, the answer is social media. Celebrities posted their pictures and opinions on the daily, and fans kept up by viewing their posts and what they said. The consumers had no need to read a magazine to get that same information. Like fashion, gossip is rampant on social media which, again, removes the need to peruse a magazine to keep up with the Kardashian's. Feedspot.com offers a blog of 100 different gossip channels on social media, most of which post multiples times a day. There truly is no shortage of gossip in the social media age we live in. In spite of the lower interest in these gossip and celebrity magazines, stories and articles of political importance and current events are still being bought by many. This is a very big reason why magazines are important. They can convey useful information and keep a reader up to date on what is going on in the world, as well as keep them informed on what sneaky secrets celebrities are hiding if they care about that sort of thing.
Newspapers
Newspapers, on the other hand, are more informal, less picturesque, and do as the name implies- share news. One of the earliest newspapers in the country was named the Pennsylvania Gazette, and was published by a young man named Benjamin Franklin in 1726 (McClay 40). Stantoncomm.com assembles a list of why newspapers are important in our day and age. One of the reasons are pivotal is because, "Print publications serve as critical filter, guiding us to the most important, relevant and authoritative sources." This means that newspapers act as guides, showing the reader what is important and worth reading. Social media tends to shove multiple articles on a reader all at once letting them decide what they think is most important, while newspapers have already handpicked the most important stories to share.
Newspapers must produce stories for audiences that keep them buying more copies of the newspaper, and this isn's always easy. One of the ways newspapers get their information is by news sources. Grant Milnor Hyde, an instructor in journalism in 1912, wrote a book entitled Newspaper Reporting and Correspondence. In his book, Mr. Hyde states that news sources are :certain sources from which the paper gets most of its tips of unexpected events and its knowledge of unexpected events" (9). Utilizing these sources, newspapers have the ability to report on events that would otherwise not be available, and readers are enthralled by the stories produces.
Are Magazines and Newspapers Influential?
Society has been influenced influences by print news, both from newspapers and magazines, in both positive and negative ways. Positively, after reading a newspaper or magazine that is based on facts, one will be more aware of world events in which they may have a voice. Even gossip magazined may reveal the darker side to certain political candidates, and this is beneficial to those who may have wanted to vote for them. While it may seem unlikely, there are those in our day and age who don't have a digital device or internet. These individuals must rely on print news in order to stay up to date, which is another reason print is beneficial.
Negatively, society has become gossip-centered and full of fake news. There was a time when newspapers editors were in charge of what the public could read, but now anyone can pick just about any story on the internet and read about whomever they desire. On social media, people are drawn to celebrity stories, and therefore real news is vital to the spread of factual information and, for the foreseeable future, will remain to be so.
McClay, Wilfred M., Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story, Encounter Books: New York, 2019.
Hyde, Grant Milnor, Newspaper Reporting and Correspondence, Cornell University Library: 2009.
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