Print Media or Radio under Threat – Radio
A good debate must always have both sides of the argument represented. I am therefore going to make the case that radio is more under threat from changes in technology, in particular, the internet, than print media.
To make this argument sustainable I need to define radio as being to limited to that broadcast across the airwaves via a transmitter to a receiver, rather than internet radio, which is a streaming service, rather than one broadcast across airwaves.
Print media is bound to shrink, with news so easily available on the internet, but reading a print edition of a newspaper is, for some, quite an enjoyable experience, you can relax in an armchair, go to the local library to read it for free, take it to a coffee house, read it in the car park while waiting for a partner to pop into the supermarket, on the bus, anywhere really, it is a very mobile format.
Though computers have become far more mobile in recent years, with laptops, netbooks and tablets, and the ubiquitous ipad, making it possible to access news anywhere, there is still something enjoyable about just sitting and reading a print form newspaper. As long as there is a demand for rocking chairs, and slippers, there will be a market for print media.
Print newspaper, and magazine sales will probably decrease further, but I do believe the rate of decrease will eventually slow down, and a plateau will be reached, and sales will stabilise.
Radio, however, is a different matter. Talk radio, and specialist music stations, I suspect, will survive better than popular music broadcasters. Like newspapers, there will a core audience who enjoys having a voice in the background, while they are doing something, and so there will always be people who enjoy listening to the radio,
However a large part of the power and importance of radio, as a broadcasting medium, has been their influence on what becomes the best selling popular music. I would argue that that element of radio will be under threat because of music streaming services. This is partly because of changes to the music industry, with far more product available, and the age group of listeners, and buyers, changing, as older people refuse to give up listening, much to the annoyance of the people compiling the playlists. People will be more inclined to switch to streaming services, and in the process chose what they want to listen to, rather than having imposed upon them a playlist they don't want.
Therefore, I am making the argument that radio is threatened more by internet related technology, than print media.
