Media Futures: Programme 1 – Newspapers
Our media matter. And thanks to the internet, they are undergoing a technological revolution that is making them more accessible, responsive, and ubiquitous than ever before. But what effects are these changes having on the established forms of media that we have come to rely on?
Mark Coles takes a look at three of our so-called legacy media – newspapers, radio, and television – and asks how they are shaping up to the challenges and opportunities of the digital world. Will they be able to adapt, and if so, how will they evolve over the next few years? What is likely to change, and what might stay the same? How can paid-for media survive when so much free material is available online? And as different types of media converge, will we even be talking about press, broadcasters and tv channels as separate entities?
In the first programme, we look at newspapers. Few media have been more deeply affected by the growth of digital technology than newspapers. The once-dependable business model of paid-for printed editions offering news and features, subsidised by advertising revenue, has been severely tested – in many cases, to destruction – by the internet. And yet, today’s electronic counterparts often struggle to make money.
RTÉ Radio 1 Extra Wednesday 12 June 8am