I came across an article that claims that newspaper advertising in the United States has hit a 25-year low as more and more advertising has shifted to the Internet. Back in 1985, about $25 billion were spent on newspaper ads, which would equal approximately $49 million today. Last year, only $26 million were spent on such advertisements. The article states that newspaper advertising totalled $7.3 billion in the last three months of 2010, down 4.7% from the previous year (Newspaper Association of America).
Print advertisements have been a large source of income for newspaper publishers, and the decline in newspaper ad sales presents a growing concern. As more consumers are becoming immersed in electronics, it may be in the best interests of publishers to discontinue printing, and move towards online newspaper subscriptions, where more companies would be willing to place their ads. Society is becoming more technological every day, especially with the growing number of applications available on smartphones, allowing individuals to control so much of their lives through a small electronic device.
Overall, with today’s technology-savvy society, consumers are likely to be more responsive and reachable through online promotions than print advertisements. Many people are staying away from paper these days: laptops for note-taking, e-book readers, news articles on smartphones and electronic billing. While this trend presents many benefits to the environment, they may not outweigh the costs of a society conquered by technology, which we all know, is never perfect.
Photo Credits:
Print Newspaper
http://hosquashclub.com/ESW/Images/newspaper.jpg
Online Newspaper
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1249/876620545_0fc3b7c761.jpg
