The future is now:
“Europeans now spend more of their week online than they do reading newspapers or magazines, according to a report.”
While many may scoff at reports like this, it is hard to ignore a trend that will dramatically shape the next generation of information products:
“…15-24 year-olds spend most time online, with the figure gradually declining with age. The opposite is true for traditional print media, where time spent reading papers and magazines peaks with those over 65 years-old, and falls as people get younger.”
Perhaps college students at a recent Online News Association conference can tell us why:
“If I am reading a book or a magazine I always wish I had that edit/find feature, but I don’t, so I stick to online.”
I am not someone who receives any joy from watching print decline, however, I am constantly amazed at how media companies continue to “tinker” with their business models in hopes that just that slight nudge will put them in that sweet spot of massive revenue with the least possible effort.
As Time, Inc. Chairman-CEO Ann S. Moore puts it:
“The assumption that new media doesn’t bring in much revenue needs updating. This year we are seeing meaningful incremental profits in several vertical-content categories. While our online revenues are still dwarfed by our print revenues, the margins on these online businesses are higher.”