How will the print industry survive? What is the impact of demassification?

The print industry first took form in the 1830’s and launched in the 1840’s with the invention of steam-power presses. This new technology made it easy to mass communicate a bundling of news, information, and entertainment in an accessible package. Many concerns have been raised on whether or not the print industry, or ink-on-paper industry, will survive with the new media dominance that the internet has had on society. Over the past few years, especially since the economic recession, the print industry has been losing both advertisers and subscribers, the two main revenue streams. Personally, I see an age where everything is accessed through the computer/internet, and that the need for print work will be completely diminished. The internet is a readily available system that makes it easy for a person to find whatever they need without the hassle of having to search through a print source, like a magazine, newspaper, or book. The ink-on-paper industry will not survive because people are all about convenience, and the new digital outlet of the internet makes it that much easier to access information.

Demassification has been defined as the “process of media narrowing focus to audience niches” (Vivian, 100). Essentially that means that magazine companies and even newspapers have narrowed their focus, audience wise, to a particular set of people. For example, the magazine Seventeen has a target audience that consists of high school girls who are into fashion and the latest celebrity gossip. With this focus the magazine is able to attract certain subscribers, and advertisers, like ProActive, would pay for the production of this magazine through advertising. Demassification has allowed for magazines to “stay afloat” for now, but I do not believe that it can sustain its print industry, because it is cheaper for advertisers to buy space online and teens can access the same information found in the magazine cheaper and more conveniently online. The print industry will not survive because technology has become too far advanced and has made it too easy for society to access information without having to open a newspaper, book, or magazine.