New Modern Media: New York Times
When was the last time you picked up a magazine or a newspaper? When was the last time you had to commute to get your daily news? Nowadays we get our news and entertainment from the ease of our hands. Over the last 50 years technology has boomed and forever changed the way we stay informed.
Newspapers date back to around 1690 and the bulk of the content focused on business and political news. During this partisan press era, readers and publishers are part of an elite group (Davis 2021). This elite group consisted of middle class individuals who had disposable income and were literate. Now, as said, newspapers were not free. This leads us to the penny press era. During this time, newspapers take a more personal approach to reach more individuals. This in return changes the economic model. Newspapers are relying on advertising to generate revenue which then results to prices of newspapers to drop.
If we fast forward to todays’ times, newspapers aren’t so popular. The internet has completely reshaped the way we receive our news. Before, individuals would subscribe to a service to receive newspapers that would come via mail service, but now we receive our news instantaneously.
The internet is a way of merging old and new media. To prove this we are going to dissect the New York Times. This popular newspaper company was established in 1815 and only costing one penny (Britannica). When the internet took off, everything from news to music migrated to the digital world. This pushed physical newspapers out of the water creating a more versatile way of reading the news. However, newspapers are still around and available to the public, but are not common or considered part of the elite group.
If we take a look at the technical framework of the newspaper in contrast to the web version, they are quite similar. This gives the reader the nostalgic feeling of reading an actual newspaper. For the future of news and technology, I feel as if physical newspapers will no longer be available and unique to come by. We as a technology enhanced society is forever evolving. Technology has dominated the world and will continue. So next time you come across a newspaper, hang on to it, it could be the last.
Sources
Warren Davis Lectures 2021
New York Times
Britannica: The New York Times
