Paper or Computer Screen?

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Many people can’t really imagine drinking their morning coffee without a newspaper. That is a common ritual before the start of yet another day, weekday or over weekends, regardless.

The new media, on the other hand, offer some new possibilities. We turn on the computer, the mobile phone, the tablet and several clicks later, we are following the latest local and international news, news from politics, sports, culture… So, there is no need anymore to run to the news agent, or is there?

Latest surveys in the U.S. show that 50 million Americans follow the news exclusively on the internet.

As far as Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region in general are concerned, alas, we see that many print media have closed shop.

Dejan Kerleta, journalist at Istočno Sarajevo TV, says that he gets 90 percent of his news and information on the internet, and just 10 percent from the print media.

B92 points out the fact that print media in Serbia face extinction. Namely, the Association of Media announced that it expected from the new Government of Serbia to establish urgent dialogue with the media industry on improvements of newspaper publishing in the country.

The association also warns that Serbia, if proper measures are not implemented urgently, will become one of the few countries in Europe without any print media.

The print media in Croatia also find themselves in an obvious crisis. “Vjesnik” daily folded, and Novi List daily reports that Nacional magazine is also close to termination unless much needed finances are secured.

The question is, how can print media fight the new technologies?

20 years ago, information was not as easily accessible as today. People did things we can’t fathom today to get the information they needed, like waiting a week or even a whole month to read their favourite newspapers and magazines. The wait today is measured in seconds, and the amount of information that we are bombarded with online is immeasurable.

Some print publications try to sell their electronic editions, but many people would say that they don’t really understand the nature of the internet, where free access for all is advocated.

Nonetheless, a somewhat substantial analysis of the type of information sought on the internet, compared to the type of information sought in the print media, gives a simple answer. People want quick and short information on the internet, while for more detailed and indepth stories, they continue to rely on the print media. Therefore, the conclusion is that print and electronic media complement each other, they don’t compete with each other.

The role of traditional media is changed by new technologies. However, those changes don’t necessarily mean the end of traditional media, provided they learn to accept, accommodate and use the new technologies.