Authors retain the copyright without restrictions for their published content in this journal. HSSR is a SHERPA ROMEO Green Journal.
Publishing License
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF FUTURE NEWSPAPERS
Corresponding Author(s) : Siti Suriani Othman
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 7 No. 5 (2019): September
Abstract
Purpose of the study: This paper reviews recent literature on issues and challenges of the future newspaper. It traces issues and challenges that generally impacting the journalism industry worldwide and may be applied for future studies that shall further examine this matter empirically.
Methodology: This is a discussion paper that does not apply any research method. The discussion is done based on recent reviews related to the issue of the future of the newspaper and its trend.
Main Findings: Based on the review, there are five major issues and challenges identified which are the decline in newspaper circulations around the world, and the shrinking size of the industry. Following Wahl-Jorgensen et al. (2016), risks and threats, opportunities and digital journalism are fundamental questions that constitute a discussion of the future of the newspaper. Among the clear risks and threats is the issue of circulation, the emergence of the digital industry and its business model, social media and smartphones and several other issues such as identifying the direction of the newspaper's future discussions covering false news, speed of information (risks and threats), digital business model and the role of major industry players in digital world such as Google (opportunities) besides data and computer journalism (digital journalism). This discussion concludes that the future of the newspaper is seen to be very influenced by the emergence of digital journalism while the print version will continue to be vulnerable. The main issue which is seen as a threat is false news and information verification methods.
Applications of this study: The above main findings may be used for further empirical investigation on the future of the newspaper in various countries in the world. The findings may also inform media practitioners on the current issues and challenges the industry is facing in general, and on what is being researched and discussed by academia on this topic.
Novelty/Originality of this study: This discussion provides a summary of issues and challenges of the future of newspaper and this will enable readers to identify the main issues surrounding this topic. So far, there have been studies and discussions, but this paper presents the main issues and challenges on this topic in a systematic way based on recent previous studies and media reports.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Afiq Hanif. (2016, January 27). 6 types of smartphone users in Malaysia. Metro, Retrieved from https://www.hmetro.com.my
- Akil Yunus. (2014, December 22). The Star Online ranks as top news portal in Malaysia. The Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my
- Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017) Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211-236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211
- As digital ad sales grow, news outlets get a smaller share. (2014, April 25). Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/04/25/as-digital-ad-sales-grow-news-outlets-get-a- smaller-share/.
- Audit Bureau of Circulations. (2014). Circulation Figures, Newspapers West & East Malaysia, Paid Circulation, Average Net Circulation per Publishing Day.
- Bastos, T.M., (2015). Shares, pins, and tweets: News readership from daily papers to social media. Journalism Studies, 16(3), 305-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.891857 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.891857
- BERNAMA (2016, October 13). 2017 Malaysia ‘Year of Internet Economy’ - Najib. Retrieved from http://www.kkmm.gov.my/
- Brandtzaeg, B.P., Marika, L., Spangenberg, J., Rath-Wiggins, L., & Folstad, A. (2015). Emerging journalistic verification practices concerning social media. Journalism Practice, 10(3), 323-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1020331 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1020331
- Buttry, S. (2014). Verification fundamentals: Rules to live by. In C. Silverman (Ed.). The Verification Handbook, Ultimate Guideline on Digital Age Sourcing for Emergency Coverage (pp. 14-17). European Journalism Centre.
- Coddington, M. (2014). Clarifying journalism’s quantitative turn: A typology for evaluating data journalism, computational journalism and computer-assisted reporting. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 331- 348. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976400 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976400
- Dal Zotto, C., & Picard, R.G. (2006). Business Models for Newspaper Publishing Companies, IFRA Report No. 1, “Where Newsâ€. Darmstadt: WAN-IFRA
- Domingo, D., Quandt, T., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Singer, J.B., & Vujnovic, M. (2008). Participatory Journalism Practices in the Media and Beyond: An International Comparative Study of Initiatives in Online Newspaper. Journalism Practice, 2(3), 326-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802281065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802281065
- Domingo, D., Quandt, T., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Singer, J.B., & Vujnovic, M. (2009). Participatory journalism practices in the media and beyond: An international comparative study of initiatives in online newspapers. In B. Franklin (Ed.). The future of newspapers (pp. 203-218). London: Routledge.
- Drok, N., & Hermans, L. (2015). Is there a future for slow journalism? Journalism Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1102604 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1102604
- Duggan, M., & Brenner, J. (2012). The Demographics of Social Media Users- 2012. Pew Research Center, Internet & Technology
- Dutton, W.H. & Blank, G. (2011). Next generation users: The internet in Britain. Oxford Internet Survey, SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/1960655 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1960655
- Edmonds, R. (2016, May 19). Looking for a sustainable business model for a regional newspaper? Start at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Poynter. Retrieved from https://www.poynter.org
- Franklin, B. (2008). The future of newspapers. Journalism Practice, 2(3), 306-317. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802280984 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802280984
- Franklin B., (2011). Introduction. The Future of Journalism. London: Routledge.
- Gartenberg, C. (2018, March 20). Google News initiative announced to fight fake news and support journalism. The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com
- Henriksson, T. (2016). Full highlights of World Press Trends 2016 Survey. World Association of Newspaper and News Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.wan-ifra.org
- Knight, M. (2015). Data journalism in the UK: A preliminary analysis of form and content. Journal of Media Practice, 16(1), 55-72. DOI: 10.1080/14682753.2015.1015801 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14682753.2015.1015801
- Lowrey, W., & Shan, Z. (2016). Journalism’s fortune tellers: Constructing the future of news. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916670931 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916670931
- McChesney, W.R. (2016). Journalism is dead! Long live journalism?: Why democratic societies will need to subsidise future news production. Journal of Media Business Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1184919 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1184919
- Mitchell, A., Gottfried, J., Barthel, M., & Shearer, E. (2016). The Modern News Consumer. Pew Research Center Journalism and Media. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org
- Nettleton, P.H. (2015). Stop the press: The future of journalism is not post-political. The Communication Review, 18(2), 123-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2015.1031997 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2015.1031997
- Neuberger, C., Tonnemacher, J., Biebl, M., & Duck, A. (1998). Online -The future of newspapers? Germany's dailies on the World Wide Web. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1998.tb00087.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1998.tb00087.x
- Posetti, J. (2014). Trends in newsroom #3. Back to Basics with Social Media Verification. Retrieved from http://blog.wan-ifra.org/2014/07/09/trends-in-newsrooms-3-back-to-basics-with-social-media- verification
- Schudson, M. (2011). The sociology of news. Independent Publishers.
- Spil, A.T., & Suijkerbuijk, M. (2015). A business model for the e-newspaper from a customer perspective. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/newspapers/Sweden_2015/10_- a_business_model_ for_the_e_newspaper_24_3_2015.pdf
- Trending Top Most (2018). Top 10 most read newspapers in the world. Retrieved from http://www.trendingtopmost.com/worlds-popular-list-top-10/2017-2018-2019-2020-2021/world/most- read-newspaper-world-best-selling/
- Wahl-Jorgensen, K., Williams, A., Sambrook, R., Harris, J., Garcia-Blanco, I., Dencik, L., Cushion, S., Carter, C., & Allan, S. (2016). The future of journalism. Digital Journalism, 4(7), 809-815. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1199469 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1199469
- Wang, S. (2018, March 20). Google announces a $300M ‘Google News Initiative’ (though this isn’t about giving out grants directly to newsrooms, like it does in Europe). NiemanLab. Retrieved from http://www.niemanlab.org
References
Afiq Hanif. (2016, January 27). 6 types of smartphone users in Malaysia. Metro, Retrieved from https://www.hmetro.com.my
Akil Yunus. (2014, December 22). The Star Online ranks as top news portal in Malaysia. The Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my
Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017) Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211-236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211
As digital ad sales grow, news outlets get a smaller share. (2014, April 25). Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/04/25/as-digital-ad-sales-grow-news-outlets-get-a- smaller-share/.
Audit Bureau of Circulations. (2014). Circulation Figures, Newspapers West & East Malaysia, Paid Circulation, Average Net Circulation per Publishing Day.
Bastos, T.M., (2015). Shares, pins, and tweets: News readership from daily papers to social media. Journalism Studies, 16(3), 305-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.891857 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.891857
BERNAMA (2016, October 13). 2017 Malaysia ‘Year of Internet Economy’ - Najib. Retrieved from http://www.kkmm.gov.my/
Brandtzaeg, B.P., Marika, L., Spangenberg, J., Rath-Wiggins, L., & Folstad, A. (2015). Emerging journalistic verification practices concerning social media. Journalism Practice, 10(3), 323-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1020331 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1020331
Buttry, S. (2014). Verification fundamentals: Rules to live by. In C. Silverman (Ed.). The Verification Handbook, Ultimate Guideline on Digital Age Sourcing for Emergency Coverage (pp. 14-17). European Journalism Centre.
Coddington, M. (2014). Clarifying journalism’s quantitative turn: A typology for evaluating data journalism, computational journalism and computer-assisted reporting. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 331- 348. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976400 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976400
Dal Zotto, C., & Picard, R.G. (2006). Business Models for Newspaper Publishing Companies, IFRA Report No. 1, “Where Newsâ€. Darmstadt: WAN-IFRA
Domingo, D., Quandt, T., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Singer, J.B., & Vujnovic, M. (2008). Participatory Journalism Practices in the Media and Beyond: An International Comparative Study of Initiatives in Online Newspaper. Journalism Practice, 2(3), 326-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802281065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802281065
Domingo, D., Quandt, T., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Singer, J.B., & Vujnovic, M. (2009). Participatory journalism practices in the media and beyond: An international comparative study of initiatives in online newspapers. In B. Franklin (Ed.). The future of newspapers (pp. 203-218). London: Routledge.
Drok, N., & Hermans, L. (2015). Is there a future for slow journalism? Journalism Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1102604 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1102604
Duggan, M., & Brenner, J. (2012). The Demographics of Social Media Users- 2012. Pew Research Center, Internet & Technology
Dutton, W.H. & Blank, G. (2011). Next generation users: The internet in Britain. Oxford Internet Survey, SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/1960655 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1960655
Edmonds, R. (2016, May 19). Looking for a sustainable business model for a regional newspaper? Start at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Poynter. Retrieved from https://www.poynter.org
Franklin, B. (2008). The future of newspapers. Journalism Practice, 2(3), 306-317. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802280984 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780802280984
Franklin B., (2011). Introduction. The Future of Journalism. London: Routledge.
Gartenberg, C. (2018, March 20). Google News initiative announced to fight fake news and support journalism. The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com
Henriksson, T. (2016). Full highlights of World Press Trends 2016 Survey. World Association of Newspaper and News Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.wan-ifra.org
Knight, M. (2015). Data journalism in the UK: A preliminary analysis of form and content. Journal of Media Practice, 16(1), 55-72. DOI: 10.1080/14682753.2015.1015801 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14682753.2015.1015801
Lowrey, W., & Shan, Z. (2016). Journalism’s fortune tellers: Constructing the future of news. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916670931 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916670931
McChesney, W.R. (2016). Journalism is dead! Long live journalism?: Why democratic societies will need to subsidise future news production. Journal of Media Business Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1184919 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1184919
Mitchell, A., Gottfried, J., Barthel, M., & Shearer, E. (2016). The Modern News Consumer. Pew Research Center Journalism and Media. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org
Nettleton, P.H. (2015). Stop the press: The future of journalism is not post-political. The Communication Review, 18(2), 123-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2015.1031997 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2015.1031997
Neuberger, C., Tonnemacher, J., Biebl, M., & Duck, A. (1998). Online -The future of newspapers? Germany's dailies on the World Wide Web. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1998.tb00087.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1998.tb00087.x
Posetti, J. (2014). Trends in newsroom #3. Back to Basics with Social Media Verification. Retrieved from http://blog.wan-ifra.org/2014/07/09/trends-in-newsrooms-3-back-to-basics-with-social-media- verification
Schudson, M. (2011). The sociology of news. Independent Publishers.
Spil, A.T., & Suijkerbuijk, M. (2015). A business model for the e-newspaper from a customer perspective. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/newspapers/Sweden_2015/10_- a_business_model_ for_the_e_newspaper_24_3_2015.pdf
Trending Top Most (2018). Top 10 most read newspapers in the world. Retrieved from http://www.trendingtopmost.com/worlds-popular-list-top-10/2017-2018-2019-2020-2021/world/most- read-newspaper-world-best-selling/
Wahl-Jorgensen, K., Williams, A., Sambrook, R., Harris, J., Garcia-Blanco, I., Dencik, L., Cushion, S., Carter, C., & Allan, S. (2016). The future of journalism. Digital Journalism, 4(7), 809-815. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1199469 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1199469
Wang, S. (2018, March 20). Google announces a $300M ‘Google News Initiative’ (though this isn’t about giving out grants directly to newsrooms, like it does in Europe). NiemanLab. Retrieved from http://www.niemanlab.org