Following my recent blog about print editions of newspapers and how there are rumours that the Guardian will become an online only publication from next year, I read with interest a piece in Print Week about some research commissioned by YouGov SixthSense, which suggests that although people believe that digital is the way forward, the reality may be quite different.
The research found that 40% of UK magazine buyers prefer print to digital. Now although that is clearly less than half of the audience, it is still a relatively high proportion of the market, the question remains though – is it significant enough?
In addition the report claims that just under one in ten adults are reading more online than in print, while 11% are reading both online and in print. Even more interestingly although print was shown as the preferred medium, almost half admitted that they were buying less magazines.
Will research like this, which proves that people still like to pick up a paper or magazine and leaf through the pages, really encourage people to consider saving print or is it just another dying art form – an industry that will be shelved along with others we look back on from times gone by?
I dread the day that we sit down with children and they want to know why we would ever have considered ‘wasting’ space with a book shelf when all you need is a Kindle or what would possess you to make a scrap book when you can so easily bookmark your favourite pages online.
I’m pleased to see that I’m not the only one who still values the printed press and enjoys reading a magazine with free gifts on the front cover. I will be packing for my holiday shortly and I don’t mind admitting that a little bit of the precious space in my suitcase will be assigned to books and magazines with free trashy novels on the front cover – you just can’t have a decent holiday without them!