My generation has seen some extreme advancements in evolution. My high school career marked the birth of the internet on a major scale.  Although it existed, the use of the internet was still in the exploration stage with AOL being the predominant online entity. Regardless, I was still resorting to visits to the library to read up on current news, research for essays, and learning how to do things.

Just over 10 years later, times have really changed.  I asked my brother about this (he just graduated high school). Turns out students aren’t really using libraries these days to research. They use Google to write their papers, Google to keep up on current news, Google to figure out answers to questions, and Google to figure out how to do something. These libraries seem to be serving little purpose other than a giant dust collection, and a public bathroom for the homeless (at least the homeless here in LA use it for that!).

There is definitely differentiation on how rapid this degradation of print publishing is occurring. For example, I think it’s safe to say that most people still prefer buying a printed novel and reading it that way rather than reading it online. Although I do see a lot more books available as downloadable PDFs, if the book is over 20 pages long and requires more than one sitting to read, it’s still more convenient to have a hand-held paperback you can take with you rather than lugging around a laptop.

It’s the print magazines and newspapers that are facing extinction. With books, the content usually doesn’t change. So if you buy a book, you don’t really have to worry about a new version coming out before you read it. With magazines and newspapers, it’s a completely different story. Typically, the minute a story is printed, it is at risk as being outdated. And the quickest the story can be updated is the next day.  More and more people are realizing this everyday and, instead of grabbing the Times to read with their coffee in the morning, they are simply jumping online to their favorite news site and consuming the information there.

This has been detrimental to the print industry.  There isn’t a newspaper out there that is reporting an increase in circulation or ad sales.  Most likely, there isn’t a magazine that can report that either.  Just recently, the hip-hop, R&B and soul magazine, Vibe, had the verdict handed down to close its doors as it enters its 16th year of publication by it’s parent company, the Wick Group.  16 years of publication, shut down!

One may argue that these publications should simply cut the costly process of printing and distribution and shift to being strictly an online publication.  On paper that may seem like a good idea, but it’s tough for any business to completely shift its business model…successfully that is.  In my opinion, it’d be easier for a brand new business to start as an online publication, then it would be for a print publication to shift to being strictly online.  The print publication, which most likely has been previously established with advertisers and readers as a printed publication, will have a hard time carrying over loyalty from it’s readers and advertisers to strictly the online world.  

In addition, the online advertising business model has not proven to be one that makes profits easily.  CPMs are getting lower and lower and web traffic becomes more and more dispersed everyday.  And although publications like the Times, magazines like 944 have both print publications and websites they can sell advertising against, they are still struggling and are approaching that feared “red line” where profits are no more and instead turn to losses.

I think we’re years away from the extinction of printed publications, but we definitely are and will be witnessing more and more of these “smaller fish,” like Vibe magazine, dying.  People may say it’s a sad thing to see, but if you look at the scientific process of evolution…as one species dies out, usually a better more evolved species takes its place.