August 15, 2010 by Jen
With the huge uptake in online media, it’s inevitable that consumer preferences within the UK are changing quickly. We are becoming accustomed to getting our own way when it comes to receiving high-quality news and information at lightening speeds. If a news site doesn’t manage to cover events within minutes, we begin to criticise them. We want information quickly and easily, and most of us are only prepared to spend a matter of seconds scanning internet pages to glean the news we need.
With this shift in public demand for information, it’s not surprising that the written and printed word is going to be impacted. We have already heard how the decline in newspaper sales has led to companies charging for their online news services, and that fewer people than ever before are turning to paper to read information.
Newspapers are a fundamental part of British society, but we are beginning to be aware of much more prudent alternatives, the net is normally a free way of obtaining information, and doesn’t carry the associated cost to the environment which printed material does. At a time when green issues play on our minds, it is understandable that we are turning our back on the printed word.
The Periodical Publishers Association has undertaken research which shows that UK consumer magazine sector is operating well, and yet a closer look at the figures show that it is in a heavier decline than it has been for the past ten years. ABC magazine sales are up by just 0.3 percent from last year’s low of 23.8 million. Since 2005, magazine sales have been dwindling consistently, demonstrating that more and more people are turning on browsers to read the information which they need.
Although magazines are pitching at the new type of audience, used to digital media, by offering 3D HD covers and bookazines, it is apparent that there needs to be a radical shift in thinking if our magazine culture isn’t going to be pushed to the wayside, by more forward-thinking vehicles.
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