Did the Internet kill the print star?

With the rise of the Internet and the increasing amount of online content, the looming question is whether or not print media is still relevant. Telum Media sat down with Davao Today's Managing Editor Mick Basa to investigate the relevance of traditional media.

According to We Are Social and Hootsuite's Digital in 2017 Global Overview report, 58 per cent of the Philippines’ population (that’s 60 million people) have access to the Internet. The report also shows a 27 per cent increase in the number of Internet users in the Philippines within the 12 months between January 2016 and January 2017 and the Philippines ranks as the country whose population spends the most time online.

With the rise of the Internet and the increasing availability of content online, it begs the question: is print media still relevant? Davao Today’s Mick Basa said that ideally, it should be.

“What should be the case is print media should be there even if online is the way of life.” said the Managing Editor, who handles operations of the Davao-based online news magazine.

As easy as WWW

One factor that is pushing Filipinos away from print media and towards the Internet as a source of news and content is that online news is usually free.

Said Mick: “We’re talking about the Philippines where subscribing to magazines cost how many pesos and then there is the Internet which is free. People already pay for mobile data to access Facebook, so why not read news on the same site? People don’t have the luxury to buy print.”

Aside from the economic benefits of consuming content online, the rise in the number of people owning mobile devices also means that more people can now read on the go, wherever they are.

“I don’t have a newspaper on hand - I read the news online. I personally would want a newspaper on my table right now, but I don’t. It’s just easier to access news online, but how I wish it was the other way around,” added Mick.

The need to know what’s happening when it’s happening has also led more Filipinos to turn to the Internet for content where news breaks and spreads within minutes, and you can read, watch or hear about it anytime, anywhere.

During the Philippine Press Institute Annual Conference in June 2013, Eileen G. Mangubat, then Editor-in-Chief of Cebu Daily News, said that people today consume news faster and they are impatient about getting it.

“They may not be reading daily or weekly newspapers as often, but they are finding out more about news and trends in a wider world at faster speed, through the Internet, on their mobile phones, and for ABC readers - the middle class that can afford it - tablets and iPads,” said Eileen.

It ain't over till my publisher sings

With the increasing needs of consumers, and the versatility of the Internet, one might think that the days of print media are over, but Mick begs to differ.

“Readers can get confused with all the information coming in online,” Mick added, “What traditional media does now is provide them with information to give context to what they see online because a two-minute video on Facebook doesn’t have time to explain the facts.”

The popularity and convenience of online content consumption has not only led to a rise in the number of new media and social media influencers, but also to the need for people to verify the content they consume online more diligently.

According to Google Trends, the number of times the term “fake news” was searched in the Philippines has grown steadily, rising to a peak of 100 searches in the first week of October 2017 and rising further still. Prior to 2017, there were barely any instances of more than ten searches of the same term in any week.

In a column about credible journalism in The Philippine Star, Rey Gamboa wrote that the strict guidelines that govern news reporting and what Filipinos “recognise as legitimate journalism” have not been established for bloggers.

Newspaper reporters or writers at magazines typically go through several layers of vetting by sub-editors and editors before off-stone when the article goes to print. In the occasion that there is a misprint, some media organisations are required to issue an apology or a correction in their next issue.

This adds to the growing sentiment of distrust in new media due to the growing number of individuals - sometimes even groups of people - that write with an agenda in mind, but do not fall under the same strict checks as a traditional media professional.

“At the end of the day, people will go back to print media as a more verified source for facts,” said Mick.

However, Rey’s column suggests that there could come a time when online media - even blogs - could become credible sources of content.

Quoting Jay Rosen, an Associate Professor of journalism at New York University, Rey wrote: “One of the biggest challenges for professional journalists today is that they have to live in a shared media space. They have to get used to bloggers and others with an independent voice talking about them, fact-checking them, overlooking them - and they no longer have exclusive title to the press. They have to share the press with the public.

“While there is still a stigma to the word blogger because of the millions who pretend or strive to write respectably but fail, there are those who have been able to stand out by coming out with truly respectable and credible articles,” wrote Rey, elaborating that the distrust in online media does not extend to all sources of news on the web.

Long live journalism

When pressed for his opinion on the future state of content consumption in the Philippines, Mick admitted that it would depend on the economic status.

“If people have more money to buy things beyond their basic needs - if they have the money to buy books, go to the movies, buy paintings - that would be an enabling environment where people would subscribe the print.”

Mick concluded that whether it comes down to print media or online media, it is beside the point.

“People are worried whether print is going to die, what kind of media is going to die, but the concern should not be on that aspect. What people should be worried about is whether the average Filipino can still afford journalism and whether we are making it affordable or accessible for them to read or subscribe. Journalism will always have a role, it educates people and it should enlighten people, especially now with the spread of fake news, listicles and videos. As a journalist myself, what i can only hope for is that things don't get worse in the future.”

He added: “I think regardless of the medium - whether it will evolve into something else in the future - journalism will always be journalism. People will always look for journalism whether it's a printed word, whether it’s a book, whether it's poetry.”

This article was first published in the Telum Media Philippines Alert on 31 January 2018.

If you have a topic or opinion that you’d like to share with the Philippine media industry, or if you'd like to find out more about Telum Media, drop me a private message or email me at nfetalvero@telummedia.com