Newsweek's announcement that it will no longer be a print magazine as of 2013 is causing quite a stir. It's easy to get sentimental, wax nostalgic and long for those golden days when Newsweek and Time were must-read periodicals.
But, just as other iconic publications have had to change or risk going out of business, Newsweek is following the right path. At some point in the future, we'll all be wondering why it took as long as it did.
The decision to go all digital and focus on its mobile presence is not only smart, it's what all members of the media have to understand and implement. Readers, viewers and listeners simply don't consume news in the same way that we did even a few short years ago.
But, just as other iconic publications have had to change or risk going out of business, Newsweek is following the right path. At some point in the future, we'll all be wondering why it took as long as it did.
The decision to go all digital and focus on its mobile presence is not only smart, it's what all members of the media have to understand and implement. Readers, viewers and listeners simply don't consume news in the same way that we did even a few short years ago.
As I have explained in my presentations to groups about digital media, "newspaper" is a compound word. Newspapers aren't going out of business because people are rejecting the news. They're rejecting the "paper," the delivery method.
Sure, I can relate to anyone who enjoys unfolding their paper along with their morning cup of coffee. But more and more of us prefer reading the news on laptops, mobile phones and tablets. Articles can be searched and shared.
So, Newsweek is simply acknowledging the obvious, that print as we know it is on the way out. Words on paper are being replaced with words on screen. Soon, that screen will take multiple forms, even new forms of electronic paper yet to be invented.
Newsweek's decision is about words and the ideas they convey. Like the general determined not to fight the last war, Newsweek isn't giving up as much as it's responding to the change that's already been underway for some time and is now painfully obvious.
So, shed no tears for Newsweek. Shed tears for those publications unwilling to take the same bold step.
Sure, I can relate to anyone who enjoys unfolding their paper along with their morning cup of coffee. But more and more of us prefer reading the news on laptops, mobile phones and tablets. Articles can be searched and shared.
So, Newsweek is simply acknowledging the obvious, that print as we know it is on the way out. Words on paper are being replaced with words on screen. Soon, that screen will take multiple forms, even new forms of electronic paper yet to be invented.
Newsweek's decision is about words and the ideas they convey. Like the general determined not to fight the last war, Newsweek isn't giving up as much as it's responding to the change that's already been underway for some time and is now painfully obvious.
So, shed no tears for Newsweek. Shed tears for those publications unwilling to take the same bold step.
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