PRINT TO "FADE AWAY" SAYS EXPERT
Magazines and newspapers in Thailand are expected to "fade away", according to Khun Kanokkarn Prachongsaengsri, deputy director for research and information analysis department, IPG Mediabrands.
Khun Kanokkarn was quoted in The Nation yesterday as saying that "a higher number of readers of newspapers in Thailand were accessing e-news, and even more if there were heated political developments, and the trend is quite the same for e-magazines."
I strongly disagree with Khun Kanokkarn's assertions.
It's a fact that advertising spending on print media has declined this year, however the number of new publications appearing has, if anything, increased this year. There are no official figures but I'm seeing an average of at least 10 new magazines each month at the moment.
Another fact is that advertisers and media buyers are not supporting the online ventures of the traditional publishers to any great degree. Ad spend online accounts for a fraction - less than one per cent - of all advertising. Until that changes there will be no seismic shift away from print.
Internet penetration also remains low and, for many, expensive. The only way to get news to much of the Kingdom is by television, radio and print.
It's true that print publishers are facing challenges and are increasingly making use of online tools to spread reach their readers and their brands, however to say the industry is 'fading away' is simply not true.
Have your say. Do you agree with Khun Kanokkarn that print will disappear? Why are new print launches in Thailand increasing? How can publishers ensure their online activities generate revenue? Leave a comment and join the debate.
5 comments:
I don't think print will fade in Thailand for some years to come. Many people read print from tourists to Thai's on the family farm in Issan.
Unlike the west where the internet permeates everyday life, Thailand is still a place where print works.
Talen, thanks for your comments.
I share your views. Thailand is almost in a vaccum when it comes to the print media sector, and what is happening throughout the industry elsehwere in the world has not yet been witnessed to any great degree in Thailand, nor will it for many years.
I believe today media is becoming more and more convergent.
TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or online would become a personal choice of how one would like to obtain one's information.
So, to say one form of media would fade away, that's likely to be impossible.
Didn't we pinpoint that radio would die when TV was invented?
It's still alive and doing just fine.
As there is no time frame for his comments I have to agree. Eventually all content will be digital when the means of reading the media becomes good enough. If while siting in your armchair or on your daily commute you could hold a magazine/newspaper size & weight digital device that delivered the same quality graphics, but also allowed the user to access video clips, link to relevant articles and much more, why would you want to have a paper copy?
The technology will come that allows this, look at Kindle. Magazines and newspapers will still be able make money in the normal way, but they will have to adjust to a new form of delivery and adjust/improve the content to suit.
Khun Phisut - .. and also that radio would die when video arrived. It didn't happen, and I don't think it's a fact that print will disappear as online grows.
Gavin - thanks. Yes, technology is developing all the time but I cannot picture a time anytime soon (within the next 20 years) when things like Kindle will be used enough in most parts of Thailand to make that the preferred form of news delivery.
Cost the the reader is one factor but so is the income for publishers. How would you get a farmer in rural Thailand who currently spends 10 baht a day for his print copy of Thai Rath, to firstly get a Kindle, secondly have access to download the material on a daily basis, and thirdly pay for it?
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