The Only Constant Is Change

Blogging is an excellent way to offer opinions, give advice, and learn from those who comment. I have an interest in crisis communications and strategic communications, probably resulting from my work in the cheerleading industry. I develop training manuals and facilitate instruction for cheer coaches in safety and risk management. I also live in a town that was devastated by a tornado a few years ago. I understand the importance of being prepared for a crisis and the importance of preparing for handling the aftermath of a crisis—whether related to weather or injuries or organizational mishaps.

This blog will peruse areas in strategic communications, emerging media, and related topics of communication. I plan to post weekly and will meander through different topics as they deal with communication. I encourage readers to post your thoughts in a polite manner—whether you agree or object!

This week I have read a variety of articles dealing with social media and the print media. Much has been written lately about the demise of print newspapers. Newspapers have a long and meaningful history. My generation can remember headlines whose words changed our lives--KENNEDY IS KILLED BY SNIPER AS HE RIDES IN CAR IN DALLAS, Saigon Surrenders To Reds, MARTIN LUTHER KING IS SLAIN IN MEMPHIS and Terror Hits Pentagon, World Trade Center. Newspapers give us a one-stop-shop for coupons, ads from our favorite grocery stores and clothing stores, editorials, and articles covering local, national, and international news. There was a time we believed what we read in the newspaper.

I remember my dad reading the morning and evening papers. I was a fan of print newspapers until a few years ago. I think the newsprint on my hands and stacks of papers had something to do with my dropping the paper subscriptions, but accessing newspapers online has much more to do with my leaving the printed newspaper. I am now a headline scanner--I look through the headlines for the news. If a headline grabs my attention, I'll read the article. I don't need the entire paper. No more stacks, no more ink on my fingers. Apparently I am not the only person to gravitate to digital papers.

 Will Bunch, a blogger for philly.com, discusses the  "de-newspaperization of America." The number of newspaper readers is decreasing daily. This is occurring across the country--not just in the big cities. Many blame the digital age and the free access of online news.A Pew study reported that in their survey, half of Americans get their news digitally. The number of people who had read a newspaper the day before had dropped by half since 2000. With the options available to us today, it is not surprising to see these numbers. What was surprising to me was that, according to this same study, more people are relying on social media as their supplier of news. What? Who finds news in social media? Maybe my definition of news is difference from others, but as I reviewed my Facebook page this morning, I saw little that qualified as news. I found entertainment, updates from friends, and those useless requests for games, but no news! It is not surprising that young people are not consumer of traditional news; they like the latest updates about famous people and sports but not politics and other traditional news items.

Some cite the popularity of tablets and smart phones as contributing to the demise of newspapers, and this makes sense when looking at the increased sales of tablets and phones. I own two android tablets (one is strictly for grandchildren use!) and an android smart phone. I find the ease of use and convenience contributing to my turning to digital means of finding the latest news. As I said, I have become a headline scanner and several apps make it easy for me to find only the articles that interest me. Flipboard allows me to personalize which newspapers and magazines I want to include in my "library" of choices. Pulse is another app that lets me choose which blogs, newspapers, magazines, and social networks I want in one place. Both of these apps are free. I can see how difficult it is to compete against digital programs that are free and provide the same service (or better) than a print newspaper or print magazine.

Print newspapers and print magazines are not the only industries to see a downward slide--the book publishing industry is impacted by digital innovations. Joseph Esposito's blog, An Industry Pining for Bookstores, talks about the disappearance of the local bookstore and that impact on publishers. I, too, love bookstores. Nothing is better that walking through Barnes & Noble touching the books and picking one up to scan through. Their graphic displays and huge assortments of all types of books are appealing, but I will admit I have moved to eBooks--almost totally for my reading. Again, the convenience of having all my books on a digital device is appealing--no more stacks of books gathering dust. Using my tablet I can read anywhere--waiting in a doctor's office, standing in line at the back, or flying to a conference.  Unfortunately for publishers and bookstores, the Kindle and the Nook have risen in popularity. Esposito believes that Amazon's growing dominance in eBooks and e Readers is a worry for every publisher. I don't need a physical book store now; I simply go online, choose a book, pay, and download. What could be easier? It appears that Esposito foresees the demise of bookstores and what that may mean for book sellers.

What the newspaper industry, the magazine industry, and the book publishing industry are experiencing is a changing world and changing patterns of reading. Yes, the digital age is a major factor in this change; however, many believe it is a reluctance to change that has been the driver. Publishing has finally accepted they are in a changing world. Those who adapt to change now and plan for change as technology advances will see a brighter future. Change is constant; those who prepare for it and plan for it will be the winners.