Newspaper stand

American newspapers are on the verge of disappearing and it is not long before the rest of the worlds traditional printed media takes the fall as well. According to statistics American printed media lost $300 billion in advertising revenue. This is a huge loss and an amount that has been diverted and directed straight into online marketing and advertising.

Here is the thing, there is nothing you can do to stop the growth in the popularity of the web. 1000’s of people are flocking towards it on a daily basis and are easily being converted into Internet using junkies. With this in mind newspapers have finally cottoned onto the fact that they might be in trouble.

For many years traditional media has harped on the fact that sales are not down which got them onto thinking that they have nothing to worry about. They are wrong! The US magazine and newspaper industry were first to get hit and now it is spreading around the world with both sales and advertising revenue dropping with the readers and advertisers lost to the digital world where information is both fast and at your fingertips.

Sure news agencies have a chance but they need to embrace new technology and move to a new business model. Moving their printed media to a digital format such as a e-reader, website or social platform will reach a much broader audience and allow for much more advertising opportunity.

NY Times has taken the right step creating a news reader for you desktop running on the Adobe Air technology allowing to easily view the latest news from the news giant. Many companies have also started charging small subscriptions to their websites as a way to generate revenue. This is a small ask for researched and edit content that is of print quality (a big problem on the internet because of how easy it is to start your own blog and write what you want).

A good local example of a company that has embraced technology and definately sets the trend in the local arena is Media24. Media24 own a few websites including News24 which is one of the most visited news websites in the country and has a very good social interaction with their audience. Lets hope more companies from around the world can latch onto this concept and create correct content, information and new on the internet.

Vuzu TV

The youth channel of DSTV has been dropped for a new channel, more of a replacemen, called Vuzu. Vuzu will be much the same as Go featuring shows like The Simpsons and Entourage. However the make over and a refresh of a concept could be the boost needed for local television aimed at the 18 – 25 demographic.

According to reports the channel will also tie into various modern technologies including a social media website. The aim of the channel seems to want to connect with its target audience with all the means that are popular.

We are yet to understand how a channel would interact with a website but you could definitely create hype by interacting the site with the channel and allowing streaming video and view interaction whilst watching various content.

How ever the idea for using the internet within any business plan is good enough for us and warrant enough attention for us to be interested.