Print vs. Online News

An advantage for The Daily Mail online is that I believe it is more appealing to the younger generation, and not only does this adjust the newspaper’s target demographic, but it means the readership is much larger and varied than what it would be if The Daily Mail only continued to offer a print version of the news. A massive difference between the two versions of the news is the ability the consumers have to interact with the news online. Readers can comment their opinions directly onto articles for the rest of the world to see, whilst they can also share content via a range of media platforms. It appears that as technology advances more and more, traditional items like print newspapers become a ‘thing of the past’ and the main reason for this, is that its quick and easy to access. For example, if you’re running late work and you want to take a look at the news, you’re probably not going to make a trip to the local newsagents to buy the newspaper when you can look at the online edition on your mobile phone in a few seconds. In this fast-paced world, people don’t want to spend time rooting through a print newspaper to find a specific article when they can search for and find it online in a matter of seconds. The biggest benefit for the consumers is the difference in the price tag when it comes to The Daily Mail online and its print edition. Although the price of a print newspaper is small, is likely one of the biggest reasons for its decline. Many people don’t see the point in buying a print newspaper if they believe they can get all the news they need online for free. Some might say that declining circulation doesn’t matter since print newspapers still receive advertisement revenue. There is also no limit to space when it comes to running a website, so this benefits The Daily Mail because it means it can anchor its articles with multiple images and videos without stressing about shortage of space. I prefer the idea of watching a video to just viewing multiple photographs as it quicker to understand the situation and appoints us as a viewer with key evidence of the narrative in question.

On the other hand, there are also a number of benefits to obtaining news via print editions too, but in my opinion, print newspapers lack behind when comparing them to the online news. The main advantage being that some people prefer to have the feeling of a newspaper in their hands, because the physicality of reading a newspaper is like a tradition or even part of a daily routine to some. Not only can you hold a print edition in your hand when you first get it, but you can also save it back to look at any time; like a memoir or antique in years to come because a  print newspaper is everlasting and unchanging, whereas articles can be hidden away on an online website in a matter of a few days- or even hours. If it is a busy news day and content online is already overflowing, some smaller news items may never make it on the web, leaving online readers slightly less informed than print readers. If a newspaper releases a special print publication outside of its regular edition- for example, an edition specifically highlighting an upcoming election and its candidates- this content often does not make it online. Sometimes online editions will even leave out content from the print newspaper’s regular edition.