Facebook and Twitter: Why Print Journalism is Dying

Culture

There is little doubt that social media is an ever-present force in most of our daily lives and it is used for almost anything from consuming the news to interacting with friends. Journalism, as whole, is a form of media which probably everyone sees in either a positive or negative light. Regardless of how you may view the media, journalism is the news and it is current. This is partly the reason why there is a big push being made to move all forms of journalism (essentially every aspect of how one consumes the news) towards online platforms. For the most part, on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook people are finding and reading the news quickly as it is right at their fingertips.

Another added benefit of online journalism is that is reaches a wider audience. People all over the world could be reading stories in the New York Times and sharing what they read with friends. The Huffington Post has already emerged as a leader in this respect, as it takes pride in the fact that it is an online newspaper with diversified ideas. 

The youth of today turn to the internet. While it may be sad that few in today’s generation enjoy reading or are less informed than those before them, a growing news presence on major social networking sites can change that with more people actively engaging and participating in the news. Online media provides the opportunity to share, discuss, and debate right at the moment that a certain news event is occurring. This may not always be the case with every news event, but the case to be made is that there is overall wider communication and interaction taking place for news stories or shared ideas. 

There may be some that are against online journalism, though most of these people actually read a real newspaper and may not be as actively engaged on social media sites. To understand the gap, it may be helpful to take a look at what is most beneficial for the future of news in a changing society. 

While print journalism may have been vastly popular years ago and still may be with some people, it has little chance of survival in a society that is becoming more and more digital.

Print journalism will only succeed if more people took the time to read it. People want news now and they don’t always need the full story.