Newspaper readership in the United States is on a steady decline. Since 1990, the print media has been recording dwindling numbers in terms of advertising, revenues, and number of newspapers printed (Pew Research Center 2012). On the other hand, the online content continues to record massive uptake in the whole country. Does this indicate that printed newspapers may become obsolete?
This paper looks at the characteristics of the target market that could be the reason, highlights the author’s reasons to believe that this product is declining in appeal, makes recommendations, and discusses a turnaround strategy.
Target Market
Printed newspapers target any adult past the age of 15 years. Majority of the population in United States fall under this category. When a person purchases a newspaper, at least one other person is assumed to have read the paper. Most newspapers subscriptions are for the family and offices.
It is crucial to note that most people do not read printed newspapers now. The target market for the prints has massively embraced online content. Most of the media giants now compete with online powerhouses such as Google for this target market. The youth aged between 13 and 45 have shifted their interest to online content leaving a shallow and rigid market for printed newspapers.
The take up of technology especially at the start of the 21st century has prompted continued decline in anything associated with a printed newspaper. This includes revenue, readership, circulation, and advertising (Pew Research Center 2012).
Another viable market is people who seek to seal deals such as land, auctions, and those who seek business information. Although it is a small market, printed newspapers may also focus on the 65 and above age bracket. These people are still conservative and stuck to the traditional newspaper.
Reasons for the Decline
Generally, the reason why newspapers continue to decline in United States is a shift towards online content. People find it more conducive to engage an online subscription of a newspaper, which is cheap and leads to more information. Newspapers are rigid in that they limit your ability to look for more information while reading.
While reading an online content, a person may open other links that lead to previous stories or bring about facts. Additionally, most people have access to information instantly online. However, there are stories that are more incisive when someone reads them from a newspaper than reading online, for example, investigative reporting.
From a demographic perspective, a majority of the United States population is aged between 13 and 45 (US Department of Commerce 2012). This group has developed or been born in a technology age. People aged above that have reported a frequent usage of a print newspaper.
However, they are an insignificant part of the target market. Sociologists have described this generation as ‘instant’. One major flipside about a newspaper that affects this generation is that it has the culpability to lag behind by at least 8 hours. This only compounds the problem.
Online giants such as Google provide easily available information at any time. Media houses have diversified to other avenues, which present cutthroat competition to print newspapers. Social media is another contributor to the declining era of newspapers. Almost every adult has reported to check his or her social media accounts at least 2 times in a day (Pew Research Center 2012).
Although information on the internet may not be verified, many people use it to spread news, which is reported in newspapers more than 8 hours later. Additionally, majority of media houses of all kind have social media accounts where they report events as they happen through use of live streams and instant updates.
It is important to note that there is no any variance in the tendencies displayed by the target market across ethnic lines (Pew Research Center 2012).
Recommendation to Marketers
Marketers of this product need to be creative in selling its remaining appeals. First, it is imperative to have good credibility. This is because the current customer has many options. A sniff of incredibility may render a newspaper obsolete.
They should also inform the consumers that it is only in a newspaper that the traditional investigative reports can be reported more incisively. It may also be essential to have two editions in a day. Additionally, Sunday editions sell more in almost every market than any other edition. A marketer should make this the highlight of the week.
Second, the media houses need to stop selling newspapers. Many people believe that it is less costly to have an online subscription. Even in the traditional set up it was rare for an individual to pay for news (Pew Research Center 2012). Hence, media houses in the newspaper print business need to concentrate on other revenue generating options such as advertising and selling media spaces.
They will have a more credible appeal to customers since they will tout the massive and free circulation. However, to do this the newspaper must be popular. Otherwise it may risk been labeled a hoax by people who view free things as such.
Lastly, considering the continuing trend where majority of the populace has shifted to online content, it is imperative that these newspapers have online editions.
These editions should be free and the media house should concentrate on selling advertising spaces. While doing this, it is also crucial to ascertain what percentage of the market requires a printed newspaper and adequately make it available (Pew Research Center 2012).
Best Foreign Country
The United Kingdom is the best country to market a newspaper. With a population of just over 60 million, the country’s 15 years and above population is slightly over 50 million. The country sells over 15 million dailies in a day. Considering that at least two people read one newspaper, this shows good penetration.
Britons love newspapers and have the habit of reading it in the morning traffic and in the evening at home. There are more than 10 national dailies and close to 70 regional dailies (Central Intelligence Agency 2012). This shows how big a market the United Kingdom is for a newspaper.
Britons believe in media and its power can be manifested in entirely different contexts. This is a very interesting market to tout a printed newspaper to a consumer. The internet penetration is quite high with two in every three individuals deemed to use internet on a daily basis.
The country has a fetish for weekend editions. In addition, United Kingdom records 2 times more newspaper sales during the weekend compared to weekdays (Central Intelligence Agency 2012).
Product Segmentation and Positioning In UK
To sell this product effectively in the new country, it is imperative to have appropriate marketing tools. Segmentation clearly demarcates the market into groups to sell a product to the right consumers. In as much as Britons, generally, love newspapers it is imperative to give them the right content.
For example, newspapers that report incisive stories about corruption, government misdeeds, and social issues report better bottom lines than the rest. Additionally, business oriented newspapers are popular in UK as opposed to political affiliated ones. Britons read morning and evening editions at almost equal measure.
To sell effectively, a newspaper needs to have both editions to reduce the time lag associated with newspaper reporting. A newspaper needs to be recognized to be meaningful. Most UK national dailies are sold unlike some regional dailies that are available free (Central Intelligence Agency 2012).
This shows that most UK citizens do not mind purchasing a newspaper. It is also imperative to report credible stories. This is despite the fact that propaganda and investigative corruption stories are popular with UK citizens. Many UK nationals buy more than one newspaper at a time.
This is despite the deep internet penetration that is pegged at around two thirds of the country. Many nationals also subscribe to the online editions and this makes it imperative to have an online edition too. Weekend editions are quite popular in UK.
They sell at least 2 times more newspapers in the country during weekends as compared to other days. At the weekend, many Britons purchase more one newspaper. This is a perfect time to have the most interesting stories, investigative reports, and documentaries. Matching the right occasion with the mood will make ensure the newspaper records high sales (Central Intelligence Agency 2012).
Newspaper circulation has continued to decline over the years. Perez-Pena (2008) reports that newspaper sales in summer and spring have been falling by about 5% every year. This has caused serious financial strain in some newspaper companies (Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism 2010). Kirchoff (2010) states that eight major newspaper companies were declared bankrupt in 2008-2010.
The decline of newspapers in the US is attributed to decrease in readership of newspaper across the country (Fair Syndication Consortium, 2009). The drop is experienced in all different types of newspaper circulation. Kirchoff (2010, p. 1) believes that the decline has been prompted by the change in readership habits as most people turn to the internet to access free news as well as information.
Web publications and news updates from individuals and organizations or institutions which do not aim to make profit by providing news, have competed the print media as they offer free, more updated news (Langeveld 2009).
Such organizations include foundation-funded projects which focus on investigative reporting, local reporting as well as policy news (Reynolds 2008). The internet provides a wide range of information and broad content from different source that can not be found in any newspaper.
Previously, classified, retail as well as national advertisements had accounted for about 80% of most newspaper companies’ revenues as people still relied on traditional advertising models (Newspaper Association of America 2011). However, the rising online advertisement through the internet has significantly affected revenues of most newspaper companies.
Many companies are adopting online advertisements since they are cheaper considering their wide (global) coverage and their interactivity. Besides, readers are continuously moving to the internet making it the most appropriate media for advertisement (Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government 2007, p.11).
Kirchoff (2010, p. 6) reports that the industry experienced a 44% decrease in advertising revenue between 2005 and 2009.
Another factor which has contributed to the decline of newspapers in the US is the debt trouble. Some newspaper companies borrowed significant amounts of money from financial institutions just before the recently experienced economic downturn.
Greg and Louis (2009); and Brubaker and Hepp (2010) points out Tribune Co. and Philadelphia Newspapers LLC as some of the major newspaper companies which have experienced serious financial strains forcing them to file for bankruptcy.
The increasing economic challenges experienced by newspaper companies have made the prices of their stocks to decline, further leading to decline in their revenues. These financial problems have impaired their relationship with their lenders, making it difficult to raise new capital.
Some newspaper companies have not been able to meet their financial agreements which they made with their lenders meaning that their credit lines risk being terminated since they are not able to consistently repay debts from their cash flow.
With the increasing volatility in the industry, survival has become the most important for newspaper companies. Some of them have adopted staff layoffs as their strategy for decreasing their workforce costs, and raising the price of their newspapers as a way of increasing their revenues (Morton 2009).
These strategies have made consumers turn to alternative media which are cheaper and provide a wide range of information. Alternative sources of information as well as news are becoming increasingly available to consumers with the rise of wireless devices such as phones, iPhones, iPad as well as wireless e-readers (Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 2009).
Available business models for the declining newspaper industry
The decline in newspapers has significant impacts on the owners as well as consumers. It leads to decrease in revenue or worse still, losses which may lead to bankruptcy. On the other hand, important news may not be covered as most newspaper companies reduce the number of their staff.
This decline will also have several indirect impacts on other media and information availability. Therefore it is important to adopt business models which can be implemented to revive the industry.
Hybrid print/online model would be an appropriate business model for newspaper companies (Malone 2009). This would enable newspaper companies collect sufficient advertising as well as subscription revenues from both the print media and the internet.
They will also be able to operate with their present staffing levels allowing them to provide a broad range of information as well as news from the local to the international scene (Federal Trade Commission 2010). For the program to be successful, they have to consider strategies for revenue-sharing with the available search engines like Google.
They have to charge subscription fees for particular contents in their online editions in order to earn revenues from their online news. However, they have to crackdown Web Portals as well as spin-off websites which reproduce their content (Dougherty 2009).
Newspaper companies can also adopt partnerships or joint operating agreements (Hanson, Hitt, Hoskisson & Ireland 2011, p. 46). This strategy will enable them share the cost of production, news coverage, newspaper circulation and delivery, and therefore reduce their costs of operation, and in turn achieve economies of scale.
Under joint operating agreements, they can share their advertising channels by integrating their marketing models. This will also allow them to link each other’s websites and newspaper contents.
Reference List
Brubaker, H., & Hepp, C. K., 2010, Philadelphia Newspapers sold to lenders. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Web.
Dougherty, H., 2009, Online news aggregators—friend or foe? Hitwise. Web.
Fair Syndication Consortium, 2009, U.S. newspaper content reuse study. Web.
Federal Trade Commission, 2010, From town criers to bloggers: How will journalism survive the internet age? Workshop Transcript. Web.
Greg, M., & Louis, B., 2009, Billionaire Zell says ‘I made a mistake’ in purchasing Tribune. Bloomberg.
Hanson,D., Hitt, M., Hoskisson,R., & Ireland,D., 2011, Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalisation. Melbourne: Cengage.
Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, 2007, Young people and news. Politics and Public Policy. Boston: Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press. p. 11.
Reynolds, D. W. 2008 community newspaper study. Missouri: Journalism Institute’s Center for Advanced Social Research at the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.
The internet is a great threat to the general newspapers but this is not necessarily because the papers did not envision this. In fact, the producers of print not only saw the threat from a distance but they struggled to make preparations to deal with it. in the early 1990s, they set up a number of strategies to help them accomplish this.
One of the plans was to create partnerships with firms like America online, which was a fast growing company for subscription services and had an advantage of being less hectic that the open internet. Another plan was educating the general public about the requirements of the copyright law and new payments models like micropayments were suggested.
On the other hand they could chase profits that other media including Television and radio were enjoying if they happened to be entirely supported by adverts. Another place was to convince tech firms to make technologies that restricted sharing or just pattern with them to accomplish the same purpose. there was however a contingency plan.
The print media producers would sue those who infringe and use them as teaching examples to the rest. However, unthinkable happened, sharing content was made possible and is increasing, walled sites are unpopular, digital ads reduce inefficiencies and hence profitable.
Many people dislike micropayments and they also resist education teaching them to act against their desires and old habits of advertisers and readers could not be directly transferred to the internet. Ferocious litigation could not constrain the crowds.
General Newspapers Strategies (strengths and Weaknesses)
What is being written and talked about is reducing ion volume and shorter articles are becoming shorter. There is notable fall in book sales over the past five years and magazines are fast becoming just some kind of artefacts. People are now relying on bloggers for information so that that can digest and get informed on what they feel they ought to know (Cardin, 2009, p. 19).
However, it is important to realize that behind this, there have to be some real fact finding. Somehow this report or news has to be obtained written and disseminated as they happen or immediately they happen. Many nations, the government does this. However in the modern world, people have depended on newspapers or wire services like UPI and Reuters supplying papers (Madigan, 2009, p. 67).
This offers raw news (Cardin, 2009, p. 19). Newspapers for so long have earned their revenue from ads. They have in turn used the money to pay for the acquisition of the news which we get delivered each day. However today, the internet has brought a very still competition and the newspapers are getting bankrupt (Collis et al, 2009, p. 23).
As many people now turn to the internet for faster and instant news, the revenue from adverts is dropping in the newspapers. Subscription has also fallen and some papers have as well filed for bankruptcy, e.g. Tribune Corporation. Many towns now face the risk of missing daily newspapers altogether and its evident that employment on the industry has fallen almost to the levels of 1950s (Papathanassopoulos, S. 2001 p. 19).
There are some strong opinions regarding what newspapers can and ought to do so as to remain viable even as the internet continue to increase and make communication complex and very fluid (Collis et al, 2009, p. 23).
The way to go for the newspapers is to provide the detailed facts that blogs and short articles on the internet do not provide (Pickard et al, 2009, p. 23). This also means that the newspaper reporting has to get investigative as an essential mission for good reporting. This means providing reporting that is beyond simple news which focuses less on what happened but dwell more on the meaning of it (McIntyre, 2009, p. 34).
Internet can be good in information to the public of what happened for instance the outcomes of presidential elections. However, it is not good in interpreting what that means (Hoffman, 2006, p. 46).
There is a lot of screaming on the internet section including blogs and chartrooms but there is not so much information at such sites as they do not gibe measured explanations and critical analyses which requires experience of reporters and correspondents to do (McIntyre, 2009, p. 34). The newspapers should be worries about quality and not the volume of circulations so as to survive in the business (Hoffman, 2006, p. 46).
This means they need to find who is still reading it and rather than giving shorter articles, they need to get smarter and give meatier articles with better opinion pieces and analyses in a daily magazine rather than daily newspapers (McIntyre, 2009, p. 34).
Rather than printing in broadsheets newspapers have to print in tabloids and present them as daily magazines (Kirchhoff, 2009, p. 16). The tabloid is more congenial to the people that the bigger sheets.
It is convenient and easy to hold rather than looking at a full page and its more adoptable to various environments of reading that are strenuous (Morton, 2009, p. 45). The tabloid is so efficient became the future daily magazine would not need to record ephemera like baseball score, market tables among other as they would all over the internet (Yardley, 2008, para. 56).
Internet Newspaper Strengths
For now the major challenge that is facing print newspaper is to cling onto the lucrative market while creating new means of making money and expanding on online market where they get free content (Morton, 2009, p. 45). Form the year 2001 to 2008, circulation of print newspaper declined from 13.5% to 17.5% for the Sunday papers.
The average daily newspaper print decreased from 13% to 7% in a period of six months from March 2009. While print circulation falls, the internet readership is increasing and there is over 73 million people visiting the US newspaper sites every month and the trend is increasing (McIntyre, 2009, p. 34).
Furthermore, the online newspaper sites are attracting readers from all over the world and it is no longer a target for local community or cities. This way, the newspapers are facing a challenge to address local issues but still win the taste of outsiders who may not actually be interested in local news of another city like spills in Baltimore (Morton, 2009, p. 45).
Executives in the newspaper industries have indicated that readership on the internet is complex as interests and preferences keep changing. The demand has really changed and most people are only seeking for general information which includes sports, businesses, entertainment and national news (Berman et al, 2008, p. 6).
Editors have been doing this job but the internet has changed this. Sites like yahoo and Google have taken up this job and they are making use of sophisticated computer programs which are able to automatically compile the links to the content in the print news, blogs and various sources across the globe (Berman et al, 2008, p. 6).
Interdependence
Whereas the future of communication and reporting is basically going online, there is still great interdependence that can is required between print and online reporting. Many of the new media investments depend partly on the print adverts to gain revenues (Berman et al, 2008, p. 6). For instance, the Political news reported in the Politico make over 50% of the ads revenue.
This is in spite the news of having many online readers. Huffington post and other aggregators like Drudge report depend on links for information from the print newspaper (Kirchhoff, 2009, p. 21). Coming print and website can produce a very potent reach to a paper. Internet has clearly interrupted habits of readers and advertisers in a manner that the ad-supported reporting is collapsing.
Conclusion
The newspaper industry is facing serious problem in terms of financial crisis. The adverts revenues have plunged owing to the bad economic times. readership has changed to online as consumers are now using internet often and can access free content. Main newspapers firms are now facing heavy debts. Several newspaper chains have filed for bankruptcy.
As these problems increase, one more serious concern is rising. This rapid decline of the newspaper industry is having a grave impact on the social lives people. There are very few reporters currently in the industry. Though print is declining and losing to the internet, the net does not have the resources and experience that the print newspapers have.
Reference List
Berman, S. Bill, B. & Karen, F. 2008. “Beyond Advertising: Choosing a strategic path to the digital consumer,” IBM Global Business Services, p. 6.
Cardin, B. 2009. “A Plan to Save Our Free Press,” Washington Post, April 3, 2009, p. 19.
Collis, D., Peter, O. & Mary, F. 2009. The Newspaper Industry in Crisis, Harvard Business School, Case Study # N2-709-463, March 11, 2009.
Hoffman, L.H. 2006. Is Internet content different after all? A content analysis of mobilizing information in online and print newspapers, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, pp 46.
Kirchhoff, S.M. 2009. The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition, Congressional Research Service report for Congress, p 3-23.
Madigan, C. 2009. 30: the collapse of the great American newspaper. Chicago; Ivan R. Dee.
McIntyre, K. 2009. “Death of Newspapers Does Not Mean the End of Journalism,” U.S. News and World Report, May 8, 2009, pp 34.
Morton, J. 2009. “Not Dead Yet,” American Journalism Review, June/July 2009 issue.
Papathanassopoulos, S. 2001. The Decline of Newspapers: the case of the Greek press, London; Taylor & Francis group.
Pickard, V. Josh, S. & Craig, A. 2009. Saving The News: Toward A National Journalism Strategy. Free Press.
Yardley, J. 2008. Read All About It, The Journal Of American Enterprise Institute, Web.
The mass media play a critical role in disseminating information to the public. Forms of media such as radio, television, and print newspapers agencies have continued to enjoy massive goodwill as well as the support of progressive governments. The nature of support that the media systems receive from the public is evident in their growth over the past decades.
Nevertheless, the advent of internet technology has altered dissemination of information significantly. Print newspapers, in particular, have witnessed declining readership statistics across the world. The variation in the newspaper readership varies from one country to another and among different societies. For example, readership culture in Europe is higher than the readership culture in the United States.
Moreover, readership culture in developing countries is lower than that in developed countries. This means that readership of newspaper is dependent on cultural and social settings of the population. The media systems across the world have raised concerns over the underlying factors behind the decline in newspaper readership.
An analysis by Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) on newspaper readership trends in Europe reveals that individual differences such as gender, age, household income, and education level are some of the major factors that cause the discrepancies, which are apparent in the patterns of newspaper readership.
Basing on the apparent trends of newspaper readership, the media systems predict that the future of newspapers seems untenable because of the increasing decline in newspaper readership. Hence, it is imperative for the media systems to establish factors that cause a decline in newspaper readership trends and put appropriate remedial measures to prevent the collapse of the print media industry.
The advent of information technology is a significant factor that has contributed to the decline in readership of print newspapers because people prefer searching for appropriate information from online sources than searching in the newspapers.
To ascertain what causes newspaper readership to decline, this study seeks to explore factors that could be causing the decline in readership of print newspapers. Finding out the cause of the decline could be a key pointer to the strategies to revive a strong readership culture in the United States and consequently across the world. Therefore, to achieve this goal, the purpose of the study is to examine the influence of age, gender, and education level on the newspaper readership patterns.
Literature Review
Gender
Newspaper readership is on the decline across the world. The decline in the trend of newspaper readership has greatly alarmed media systems to establish factors that have contributed to its decline. The establishment of factors that cause a decline in newspaper readership is essential because the declining trends call for a shift of attention from measures to revive a strong readership culture to the enhancement of understanding of the causal factors.
Several factors have been identified by past studies as among the factors that influence newspaper readership. For instance, Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) note that gender dictates the readership culture of an individual as men appear to be frequent readers when compared to women. The study employed a comparative study by examining trends of newspaper readership in 23 countries.
The study conducted to analyze how both national and individual variations influence the pattern of newspaper readership within a population revealed that gender is one of the major factors that influence newspaper readership. The study by Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) sought to find out the average time each participant sets aside on a normal weekday to read a newspaper.
In responding to the question, the respondents, adults from 23 different European countries, were expected to respond to the question by giving the specific amount of time they spent reading a newspaper. The results of the study showed that men spent more time with newspapers. Thus, the study concluded that men are frequent readers of newspapers than women. This supports the assertion that that gender influences news readership among the population.
Educational Level
In a different study, Chan and Goldthorpe (2007) sought to establish a link between social status and newspaper readership. Since the education level defines the social status of a person in society, it determines newspaper readership among the population. The study assumed that educational attainment is a parameter that enhances newspaper readership because higher levels of education increase the information processing capacity of individuals (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007).
In other words, education level increases the demand for information among the population. This means that individuals with higher education levels demand more information than those with lower education levels. The study targeted adults in contemporary British society with both males and females participating in the study.
The general assumption made by the study was that individuals with higher information-processing capacity, that is higher educational attainment, were more likely to read newspapers as compared to those with lower educational attainment levels (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). Since the study also sought to establish the relationship between social status and newspaper readership, the analysis took a multivariate approach.
The study results showed that the information-processing hypothesis was true. Higher educational attainment correlated positively with newspaper readership. The study thus concluded that individuals with higher levels of education spent more time reading newspapers than their counterparts with lower educational levels.
Age
Elsewhere, Coelho (2008) conducted a study to find out the influence of age on newspaper readership. The assumptions that underpinned the study were that the layout of the front page of a newspaper determined which age groups were most likely to read it. This was outlined in two hypotheses; the first one claimed that younger readers are attracted to images, while the second one claimed that older readers are more attracted to printed headlines. The study involved two groups, which comprised of individuals of different age groups.
The first group was made of eight adults aged between 40 to 50 years, while the second group comprised eight young adults aged between 15 to 18 years (Coelho, 2008). The two groups were presented with two categories of newspaper quality, where one category consisted of multicolored front pages with attractive graphics while the other was slightly dull.
The analysis was conducted by making a careful note of the entry points of the individuals on the newspapers and their reading paths. This approach served to identify the portions of the newspapers that captured the attention of the readers first. The results of the study showed that the older readers stick to a linear pattern of reading, which is dictated by the relevance of the information as presented on the newspaper cover page.
Younger readers for their part were less restricted by the relevance of information on the cover page and showed a clear affinity for the images (Coelho, 2008). The conclusion was that even though the study was plagued by limitations due to the number of respondents that participated and the number of newspapers used, the findings confirmed that age affected the readership behaviors of individuals.
The review of literature opens a window that gives insight into the factors that affect trends or patterns of newspaper readership among the population. Although there may be other factors that influence the patterns of newspaper readership among people of all age groups, the dominant ones are age, gender, and education level. Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) argue that age, gender, household income, and the level of education are some of the dominant factors that influence newspaper readership in Europe.
Similar factors also influence newspaper readership in the United States and other developed countries. Empirical studies conducted in the past strongly point to the fact that the independent variables of this study (age, gender, and education level) influence the patterns of readership. This influence forms the basis of unearthing the causes of the dwindling newspaper readership trends that is evident across the world.
However, the decline in newspaper readership poses a great challenge to the newspaper industry because it compels it to balance the expectations of all individuals by considering their age, education level, and gender. Hence, for a newspaper to be competitive, it must overcome challenges in the newspaper market because it is becoming differentiating itself as time elapses.
Hypotheses
The first hypothesis states that men are frequent readers of newspapers than women. This implies that gender is a factor that influences newspaper readership among the population. Past research shows that gender influences newspaper readership patterns. Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) conducted a study that revealed that men spend more time reading newspapers than women.
The findings show that there is a gendered interest of information that the newspaper provides. This means that men are common consumers of newspaper information while women are rare consumers of newspaper information. Thus, this study supports the hypothesizes that men are frequent readers of newspapers than women
The second hypothesis predicts that individuals with higher levels of education tend to frequent readers of newspapers than individuals who have lower levels of education. The differences in newspaper readership across the people due to their educational level, depict how educational level increases the demand for information.
A study conducted by Chan and Goldthorpe (2007) concluded that the level of educational attainment has a bearing on newspaper readership. In agreement with that study, this study assumes that individuals with a higher degree of education are frequent readers than individuals with a lower degree of education.
The third hypothesis of the study states that the frequency of reading newspapers among the population increases with age. In this view, the study assumes that older people are frequent readers than younger people. In a study conducted by Coelho (2008), age was found to influence newspaper readership patterns, as older people spend more time reading newspapers than younger people.
Although age is a dominant factor, other variables such as the level of income mediate the trend of newspaper readership among the population. Hence, this study predicts that the frequency of reading newspapers among the population increases with an increase in age.
Method
Participants
The study obtained its data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which provides demographic characteristics and attitudes among the people in the United States. The GSS applies proportional sampling technique when selecting participants and interviewing them in-person. The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) conducts a household survey by selecting individuals who are above 18 years old and subjecting them through face-to-face interviews and computer-aided personal interview (Davis, & Smith, 2011).
The GSS has been gathering data on contemporary issues with the objective of examining and monitoring trends and patterns of behaviors, attitudes, and attributes of Americans across the decades. In this view, since the study seeks to assess the influence of age, gender, and the education level on the newspaper readership patterns, it collected appropriate data from the GSS. From the GSS, the study selected 4901 participants so that it could assess their opinions regarding newspaper readership in terms of age, gender, and education level.
Instrumentation
As an instrument for assessing trends and patterns of newspaper readership, the study utilized five-Likert scaled questionnaire. The independent variables in the study are the demographic characteristics of the participants (age, gender, and education level). Comparatively, the dependent variable is the frequency of reading newspapers according to the five-Likert items (every day, a few times a week, once a week, less than once a week, and never).
Thus, age, gender, and education level are three independent variables, while the frequency of reading newspapers is a dependent variable. The research question was that, how often do you read a traditional newspaper? When answering the question, the participants gave their answers as per the five-Likert items.
Procedures
The scale of measurement of the independent variables, age, gender, and education level, is nominal, while the scale of measurement of the dependent variable is ordinal (Likert items on scale 1 to 5). Since the study sought to establish the effect of gender, age, and educational level on newspaper readership, the study used frequency tables and cross-tabulations in presenting results.
Moreover, the study applied a chi-square test in testing the three null hypotheses of the study. The significance level was set at 0.05 to reject the null hypothesis of age, gender, and education level. The statistical software for social science (SPSS) was applied in the analysis of data to create frequency tables, cross-tabulations, and in performing chi-square test.
Results
Data in frequency tables were analyzed to determine newspaper readership patterns among 4091 participants. Regarding the independent variable of age, the frequency table shows that out of 4091 participants who participated in the study, only 2041 managed to answer the questions well, and thus the valid number of participants. The young participants were 229 (11.2%), the medium participants were 736 (36.1%), and the old participants were 1076 (52.7%). The crosstabulation portrays that 9.6% of the young read newspaper daily while 26.9% never read the newspaper.
In the independent variable of gender, the frequency table shows that 2044 participants out of 4901 participants were valid. The frequency table indicates that male participants were 891 (18.2%), and female participants were 1153 (56.4%). The crosstabulation shows that 32.6% of male participants read newspaper daily, while 18.5% of the same participants never read the newspaper.
In the aspect of educational level as an independent variable, the frequency table indicates that participants with low education level were 1451 (71%), while those with high education level were 593 (29%). The crosstabulation of the education level depicts that 26.1% of participants with low education level read the newspaper daily, while 21.5% of the same participants never read a newspaper.
The chi-square test was applicable in testing the three null hypotheses of the study at the significance level of 0.05. The first hypothesis states that men are frequent readers of newspapers than women. The null hypothesis assumes that men and women read newspapers with seminar frequency, and thus expected percent distribution is 20%.
However, the observed distribution of percentages is 31.4%, 19.4%, 15%, 15.4%, and 18.8% for every day, a few times a week, once a week, less than once a week, and never respectively. The difference between the expected and observed percentages is significant (χ2 = 108.315, df = 4, p<.005). Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, and thus proves that men are frequent readers of newspapers than women.
The second hypothesis predicts that individuals with high levels of education tend to be frequent readers of newspapers than individuals who have low levels of education. The null hypothesis expects that the distribution of responses from participants is 20%. Nevertheless, the observed distribution of responses in terms of percentages is 31.4%, 19.4%, 15%, 15.4%, and 18.8% for every day, a few times a week, once a week, less than once a week, and never correspondingly.
The distribution of responses shows that expected and observed percentages have apparent variation. The chi-square test shows that the apparent variation is significant, and thus the null hypothesis rejected (χ2 = 52.567, df = 4, p<.005). Hence, the test proves that newspaper readership increases with education level of an individual.
The third hypothesis of the study states that the frequency of reading newspapers among the population increases with age. Although the expected distribution of percentages is 20%, nonetheless, the observed distribution of percentages is 31.3%, 19.3%, 15.1%, 15.4%, and 18.9% for every day, a few times a week, once a week, less than once a week, and never respectively.
The chi-square test of the apparent difference is not significant because the p-value is greater than the significance level (χ2 = 1.055, df = 4, p<.005). In this view, the test fails to reject the null hypothesis, and therefore, establishes that gender does not influence newspaper readership.
Discussion
The decline in newspaper readership across the world has posed a significant challenge to the growth of the media. Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) established that gender, age, household income, and education level are major factors that influence the readership of newspaper among the population. Thus, the media systems seek to establish factors that have caused the decline in newspaper readership with the view of improving the culture of newspaper readership among different populations.
While Coelho (2008) holds that age influences newspaper readership, Chan, and Goldthorpe (2007) hold that social status determines newspaper readership. Hence, it is imperative to determine if gender, age, and education level have any significant influence on newspaper readership among Americans based on the General Social Survey.
The first hypothesis states that men are frequent readers of newspapers than women. The study done by Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) formed the basis of this study because it found out that men read newspapers frequently than women. Similarly, the analysis of data obtained from the General Social Survey reveals that men frequently read newspapers than women.
The revelation agrees with the earlier findings of Elvestad and Blekesaune (2008) and thus confirms that there is a strong connection between gender and newspaper readership. Therefore, gender is a predictive factor of newspaper readership among Americans.
The second hypothesis predicts that individuals with high levels of education tend to be frequent readers of newspapers than individuals who have low levels of education. The hypothesis has its basis on the study carried out by Chan and Goldthorpe (2007), which established that social status of an individual correlates with newspaper readership.
Likewise, analysis of data derived from the General Social Survey shows that individuals with a high level of education are frequent readers of newspapers than individuals with low level of education. Thus, the study confirms that education level is a significant determinant of newspaper readership among Americans.
The third hypothesis of the study states that the frequency of reading newspapers among the population increases with age. Coelho (2008) found out that the age of an individual determines newspaper readership in that the young people are poor readers while the old people are good readers. However, analysis of the data obtained from the General Social Survey shows that age and newspaper have no significant relationships. In this view, the study shows that age is not a predictive factor of newspaper readership.
Overall, the study established that gender and education level are significant predictors of newspaper readership among Americans. This means that the media systems need to improve the culture of newspaper readership among women and people with low level of education so that they can increase their consumer base. Baughman (2005) argues that the media should cultivate a culture of reading newspapers among the population.
Hence, it is evident that the decline in newspaper readership occurs due to gender and education level of individuals. In this case, the media should target women and Americans with low level of education. As the study established that age is not a significant predictor of newspaper readership, the media should focus on the general people irrespective of their ages.
The weakness of the study is that it used one research question in determining newspaper readership among Americans. The one research question is not reliable in establishing the frequency of newspaper readership because it examines one aspect of readership. Frequency of newspaper readership is not the only attribute that measures newspaper readership among Americans.
Reinhard (2001) states that increasing the number of Likert scale questions and items to enhance the reliability of the data. As the Likert scale items are reliable, the study needs to focus on the number of questions. Therefore, the study should expand the number of questions to improve their reliability in measuring newspaper readership among Americans.
Another way of improving the accuracy of the data is to enable the participants to provide accurate information. The data that the General Social Survey provided had many missing values, which significantly reduced response rates of participants. Out of 4901 participants, 58.3% of them formed missing values. This means that the response rate of participants was very low to warrant extrapolation of findings to the general population.
In this view, the study should clean the data first before analyzing to ensure that there are no significant values missing. Moreover, the study should use appropriate variables so that the potential participants can answer them appropriately, and thus improving the response rate.
References
Baughman, J. (2005). The Republic of Mass Culture: Journalism, Filmmaking, and Broadcasting in America since 1941. New York: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Chan, T. W., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (2007). Social Status and Newspaper Readership. American Journal of Sociology, 112(4), 1095-1134.
Coelho, Z. P. (2008). Front Page Layout and Reading Paths: The Influence of Age on Newspaper Reading. Studies in Communication, 4(1), 1-14.
Davis, J. A., & Smith, T. W. (2011). General social surveys, 1972-2010. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.
Elvestad, E., & Blekesaune, A. (2008). Newspaper Readers in Europe: A Multilevel Study of Individual and National Differences. European Journal of Communication, 23(4), 425-447.
Reinhard, J. (2001). Introduction to Communication Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Newspapers have changed in content, interactivity, design, nature, and management from time to time since their inception. Reading indicators expose that the United States moved from a press that was partisan and did not enjoy advertising support to a generation of newspapers with an overwhelming reliance on advertising for the sustainability of its business prospects. It is by virtue of this final that it comes evident the lack of government’s support in terms of subsidies to the press in the current regarded capitalist system full of democracy but only makes its thrive reliance on adverts and volume of sales. What could be the impact of this as regards the category of news received by the public as of now?
Technology has improved the development of newspapers. The newspaper investment is profit-driven for its sustainability. This remains a maxim in a society that is capitalist. The sixteenth-century saw the rise of capitalism. This brought in an escalating complexity with regards to the society with universities thriving, parliaments setting in, participation in a democracy including an upsurge in free-style religion (Campbell, 73). When society moved from simple to complex life, the spread of information also grew in tandem to keep track of the changes.
The use of post grew at the period of the Middle Ages and formed the chief clearinghouse as regards information was printed by publishes once in a while and formed the basis of news sheets that were sold by hawkers. Europe started the development of weekly newspapers which had a relationship with the business centers that were mushrooming and the emergence of newsweeklies commonly known as currants. Business people were curious to confirm whether a ship sent to a long distance to obtain spices could prove a useful idea in instances where the destination of the ship was war tone. The spread of books in Europe thereafter in 1452 and the upswing in literacy levels relatively enhanced the growth of newspapers relaying the content that showed information that concerned the transitory of new laws. There was a gradual attraction and passion for state affairs which inserted a great impact on society.
Although technologies of communication emerge from society, they have far-reaching effects. In fact, this is shown by the way newspapers flowed in the society with their outstanding impact on the people.
Responsibility of the newspapers in providing shape to the public arena exposing places political discussions could be held including a tavern, a café, a beer hall, a salon, or a town hall. He exposes the manner in which an escalating curious public made the use of newspaper for the sole purpose of collecting information with a focus on the activities within the central government and later made public meetings and barazas to pass the information to others in an interactive way that often attracted a heightened debate on these political issues. There was no predicted peace with the discussions even though there were evident indicators of care from the people. Contradictorily, asserts that carelessness has dominated people’s lives in the current newspaper error due to the psychological impacts of television undermining the essence of social activity and making our interests gain social passivity.
Although the discussions that proved mainly political got a reservation only to literate and semi literate persons who had reading and writing skills and hence did not bear democracy but was only used to pass the information of the sole responsibility of the government in paying extreme attention with regards to its citizenry. The Bill of Rights may have not thrived its way into the Constitution of the United States during the eighteenth century had it not been for the individuals in the Thirteen Colonies who actively participated in the formation of the republic.
Meanwhile, the United States got its independence, and partisan press newspapers gained ownership of political parties. These newspapers never made their reliance on finances that were got from subscriptions and/or advertisers but performed the role of being the influential source of the political parties that held their ownership.
The newspapers were also considered pertinent to public relations as they acted as a tool to it according to political parties; and they were also used as opinion-shapers with regards to key issues in politics. The Habermasian perspective as concerns the sphere of the public tallied perfectly with the newspaper content; the newspapers stimulated discussions revolving issues of politics which were reinforced by the meetings within the public sphere. Although after the formation of the United States, the impact inserted by the partisan press started vanishing. Including the public sphere, which is deemed to have assisted in shaping the early United States, had a decrease in impact. Then, there was an emergence of the commercial penny press.
The partisan press experienced a decline due to the following assertions; it proved unfeasible to accommodate a sustainability of the obsession brought about by the War of Independence which was against England besides the ultimate foundation of the republic of United States spill amongst the populace.
The United States has exemplified the public sphere by an intense participation in democracy which made the public sphere fundamentally an elitist institution. Another reason why the partisan press experienced a decline was due to the fact that the emerging commercial press proved better in their economic models increasing the thrive rates which finally gave it a way into the market and suppressed the penny newspapers.
Asserts that the very first time introduction of new penny newspapers in the city of New York in the period of 1930s which later received popularity throughout the country, altered the landscape of the newspaper radically (Crowley and Heyer, 114).
Economically, the penny newspapers bear considerable cheapness, and met the demands of the vast majority of the society whose income levels may have not afforded them otherwise. They sold copies of an individual issue to many and an escalation is circulation was realized making the publishers to secure increasing profit margins despite the obvious decline in sales for the partisan the merchants capitalized the utility of this avenue and crafted quick and cost effective ways of attaining marketability.
The penny press gained a considerable reputation in advertising business which has remained evident with the newspapers to date. In fact the American newspaper had a vast amount of its profits springing from the use of adverts.
The debates of the public-sphere diminished relatively simultaneous with the disappearance of the partisan papers. New England’s town meetings are one an affirmation of today’s existence of debate public. Although Habermas asserts on the visible differences that are evident with today’s meeting as compared to the historical ones. The difference came as a result of the changing interest as regards the public sphere and not the precedence of money overriding the newspapers.
But the new newspapers incorporated the use of vast majority of sensational stories including scandals of sexual attachments, serious criminal allegations and occurrences, and central political activities which formed the basis of human-interest stories. The presumption that accompanied this was that of wider readership pegged to curiosity over scandals that engulfed the era and were covered in the papers.
The new penny papers evidently received financial stability and success; in fact newspaper publishing became lucrative in the market due to increasing readership and subsequent advertising space sought by advertisers in relaying their products’ publicity.
Political inclination complicates the situation since political parties never enjoyed paramount outlets that they could use in spreading news, and met stiff competitions from the sensational coverage before they could receive any attention from the public (Dahlgren and Sparks, 96). Nevertheless, this gave the political parties an increased compatibility with the people’s interest and proved less beneficial to the community.
In the umbrella of sociology, newspapers represented the very cracks of the society by covering emerging ideas and events of use to the society capturing the evident aspirations and needs of this crucial populace and in fact, took the place of a public sphere.
The inclusion of editorials in the newspaper provided an interactive for an arguments and discussions instead of the former physical contact arguments. Newspapers today have opinion pages which accommodates diverse opinions from the community on a variety of issues of concern and has made political arguments to be done either via mail or through letters.
These developments of the newspaper to this far can attract judgments of significance with regards to their positive and/or negative role in the society but it remains evident that technologies of communication often ignite changes in society that hold onto them.
In conclusion, Newspapers have impacted on the earlier changes that accompanied the introduction of books introducing diversities that had not been captured in the latter. Newspapers are seen to stimulate literacy acquaintances by exposing the significances that accompany information which remains a chief element of the changes emerging as a result of the printing press. Ironically, newspapers also played a crucial role in instigating active participation among the public sphere with regards to the community affairs. The transition between the partisan and the penny press led to the expansion of newspapers due to the vast inclusion of stories that bore human interest and employed the use of advertising space as a sole source of funds for sustainability and commercial upswing and subsequent development of new technologies in communication.
Works Cited
Campbell, Richard. Newspapers And The Rise Of Modern Journalism. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. Print.
Crowley, David and Heyer, Paul. Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society. Boston: Pearson, 2007. Print.
Dahlgren, Peter and Sparks Colin. Communication And Citizenship: Journalism And The Public Sphere In The New Media Age. New York: Routledge, 1991. Print.
Following the massive advancement in technology and modernization, the media has become one of the key players in enhancing cultural integration. In this regard therefore, the media can be described as a catalyst in enhancing coherence and harmony across the world; where breaking news from one end can be received to the other end on the spot. However, the media has often been faced with various challenges in which its stake-holders (on the side of production) have to handle satisfactorily, so as to attract its popularity. This paper presents a situation where a chief editor in a large metropolitan daily newspaper, has to handle a situation where one of his/her reporter is caught fabricating sources and making up facts; from disciplining to explaining it to its readers (Stavros, 2008).
Discussion of the role of the media in the society
As the chief editor of a large metropolitan daily newspaper, one is entitled to explaining to the audience the various roles of the media in the society and its capacity of information coverage in all situations within the society. Perhaps, the media is at liberty to delivering news to the public; regardless of whether bad or good news. This is a very significant role of the media in the sense that; it would gain popularity once found out to report news vividly without mincing issues. In this case, it is significant to note that; immediate news delivery by the media incorporates cultural integration and unity among the high disparity of the world’s cultural groups. It is of great importance to note that; the media is also entrusted with the various social responsibilities in the society. Being as institution of socialization, the media is expected to be responsible in socializing its audience in various aspects; where it is a very crucial agent of socialization of people in all parts of the world (Taylor & Francis, 2005).
Discussion of the significance immediate news media delivery on culture
However, the chief editor of the metropolitan newspaper has to adhere to various ethical considerations while settling the dispute involving hi/her reporter and the audience. Being very crucial values in the society, both ethical and legal considerations ought to be incorporated in solving various issues concerning the media. More specifically, the chief editor of the metropolitan newspaper should solve the dispute between his/her reporter and audience on the basis of both ethics and legal procedures. This is important especially in the online world in the sense that; all the parties would be placed in a better place of knowing their roles (Jacobi, 2003).
Discussion of the advantage and disadvantage of modern media online delivery
On this basis, the main advantage of the modern media delivery is that it ensures a high degree of correspondence among various cultural groups in the society by integrating them. Nevertheless, the modern media delivery is also dangerous in the sense that; it can result into a very great conflict among various cultural groups in the world. Generally, as it can be depicted in the media over the last century; various changes have been witnessed indicating a high level of technological development. This is evidenced by express presentations of news from their origins, through the broadcasting house and then to the audience (Stavros, 2008).
Conclusion
Generally, the role of the media in the society is inarguable in the sense that it systematically integrates the widely spread cultural groups in the world into a common view of things. In this respect therefore, the media is entrusted with various social responsibilities; in which both ethical and legal matters have to be considered.
Reference list
Jacobi, M. (2003). Ethics in Communication and the Media. Clemson: Clemson University Press.
Stavros, A. (2008). Advances in Communications and Media Research, first edition. New York: Prentice Hall Publishers.
Taylor, W. & Francis, E. (2005). Media and Communications. New York: Routledge Publishers.
The comparison between two newspapers, Westside Today that comes out in Malibu Beach and Gazette Newspapers, which is the Downtown Gazette, have yielded some interesting results. The differences and unique qualities of each newspaper refer to the demographics, social make up, population background—in general, the local culture of the community. The popularity of newspapers depends on the predominance of certain groups in the area, the values that have established themselves in that particular community and the ability of the newspaper to interest the reader by effective information presentation and transfer (Willis 38).
When analyzing Westside Today, it is obvious the easy-to-access headline divided content. The front page allows for a quick overview and selective reading, which enables a person to flip to the articles they are interested in without looking through the whole newspaper. The news on front page is mostly business, economy and national matters related. Topics such as local business news, crime updates, Obama’s administration and mayoral debates all have a common nature in economy and politics. This is due to the fact that people in the area are interested in the way they are governed and they take an active part in the process. As Malibu is located near one of the most beautiful beaches in United States, people are interested in settling here or opening a business, so it is reasonable to expect news that relate to that. The movies filmed here and settings used for videos, show how this area is very popular and this explains the interest people have in the region. The direct link on the title page labeled “stocks” takes the reader to the current values on the market. Such quick access to financial information is another link to the business world and attention people pay to the market fluctuations. Several headlines in relation to crime statistics confirm the community’s interest in safety. Under the link titled “about us”, first line acknowledges that this is a newspaper that centers on movies, business and politics. The general atmosphere of the paper and this particular department reinforce the effect that people in Malibu are very much preoccupied with interesting and irregular lives. Westside Today comes out in Bel-air, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Palisades and this shows that areas which are known for their style and high “rolling” are represented in the newspaper. People who live in these areas are middle and upper class and the newspaper markets directly to that type of audience (“Westside Today”).
Another newspaper collection that is rather popular are the Gazette Newspapers. It includes several issues of different newspapers that come out in the local mini-regions; they are Grunion, Downtown and Uptown gazettes. The issue of Long Beach can be considered somewhat similar to the Westside Today. Long Beach is one of the largest cities in the Southern United States and is well-known for its maritime theme, oil industry and technology businesses. People in this area are even more business oriented. The first common page has an advertisement for dining places on the beach but the rest of headlines are related to business and politics. One of the predominant themes includes attractions that can be found at Long Beach and ways people can involve themselves and participate in the community matters. The pictures and advertisements for cafés, restaurants, concerts and community events create a leisure and holiday atmosphere. After reading the newspaper, a person wants to get to Long Beach and relax in the sun. In comparison to Westside Today newspaper, the theme is more “vacation” oriented. People in the area are seen as more laid back and expecting to be entertained. This might be due to the fact that Westside Today comes out in several densely populated and upper class areas where people are interested in gaining more financial independence, whereas Gazette Newspaper, uses business and the world of economy to lead into relaxation and enjoyment of freedoms acquired through successful businesses and lifestyle. One of the interesting links of the front page is access to the “Arrest Logs.” The newspaper provides a list of all recently arrested people and the charges laid. This is extraordinary for a newspaper because it creates a personal and private connection with the reader. The statistics of crimes show that predominant numbers of people are involved in many forms of theft and drug or narcotic use. This is fascinating to analyze because it shows that people here are very laid back and all they want to do is experiment with their mind or get access to easy money, probably to use it for drugs. Of course, this might be an overrepresentation of the types of activities people are involved in but nonetheless, it is evidence that pertains to the partial make-up of the community (“Gazette Newspapers”).
In conclusion, both newspapers are centered on business and leisure time. They greatly represent the community and general atmosphere of the area, at the same time being informative and useful to readers.
Works Cited
Gazette Newspapers 2013. Web.
Westside Today 2013. Web.
Willis, William. Surviving in the Newspaper Business: Newspaper Management in Turbulent Times, New York, United States: ABC-CLIO, 1988. Print.
Ideology is a rationality of thoughts that presents a foundation for structured political action. Ideology determines the ability of achieving projected conservation, transformation or toppling the available system of power. According to Mannheim (1996), people’s ideas, are fashioned by their material and social statuses.
Ideologies have a belief system that serves to preserve a certain collective order and articulate the welfare of the dominant group in the society. Weiler (2001) argued that the capitalistic structure is sustained not merely by the asymmetrical financial and political power but also by the hegemonic ideas of the bourgeoisie.
The ideas of the bourgeoisie reinstate other ideas and presumptions hence perpetuating or preserving the class system. Sergent (2008) postulated that ideology could be termed as a structure of values and beliefs pertaining to diverse institutions of society considered realistic by a section of the society. An ideology offers believers a portrait of humanity and the way it should be.
By doing this, ideologies organize the tremendous complexity of the world into something fairly simple and understandable. Having lived in Britain during the industrial revolution, Marx & Engels (2008) established that for the society to develop people must reproduce and produce as well.
Ideology comprises of several ideas of the elites who form the ruling class found in every society and in every epoch. The ruling class according to Marx controls both material and non-material factors of production. According to White & Dash (2008), the class that is in a better position of controlling its overall productivity is better placed to control the mental and intellectual productivity of its members.
Generally, the ideas of those who lack material are subject to those of the ruling class utilizing them for production and their own benefits. Ideology is about delusion and demystification because it perpetrates false or mistaken view of the world. On the contrary, ideology is linked to the ruling system since the distortion implicated on the ideology reflects the interest of the rulers.
The ruling class does not recognize that it is an oppressor and therefore tries to reconcile with the oppressed. Liberalism portrays the rights of people and yet the reality is that the rights can only be enjoyed by the propertied and privileged in the society. It naturally follows that ideology is the manifestation of power that tends to conceal the contradictions of capitalism.
Moreover, ideology, according to Marx is temporary. When new ruling classes take over leadership, they introduce new ideologies. Ideology is not only confined to the ruling class but even the workers and the society as a whole has its ideology. Ideology is then surmised as the distinctive ideas of a particular social class that advances the interests of a certain social class regardless of the position of the class in the society.
Therefore, it is evident that all ideologies serve particular purposes such as: offering accounts to existing orders usually in form of worldviews. They also contribute to advancing some models, in an attempt to configure a well-desired future or coming up with visions of good societies and finally, they strive to explain how political change could be and should be brought about.
Ideologies have always existed in the society. Before enlightenment age, communal based ideologies followed by slave modes and afterwards slave based ideologies, paved way for modern ideologies (such as capitalism and socialism).
Introduction
Metaphorical type-founded orientation established collective utility of communication in monetary editorial articles. Additionally, dogmas of every economic journalist deduced application of the emblematic strategies. Consequently, the researched information in rhetorical policies is a helpful tool for fiscal correspondents in articulating their philosophies successfully.
A monetary journalist creates an authenticity basing on his or her opinions, beliefs of the media houses and the projected addressees. It is suggested that idioms congregates to the established shared, financial and psychosomatic requirements. It is therefore critical that pathways employed by monetary journalist are an interceded structure supported by ideological prejudice. The information obtained from various newspapers and other financial materials illustrates a variation in ideologies.
Findings
White and Dash (2008) in the New York Times argued that Lehman Brothers was sold because of its continued record of losses. This ideology piloted the anxiety among workers outside the firm. This idea never went down well with the majority of employees because of losing their jobs.
The columnist in this article proposes that Lehman brothers played a critical role in stabilizing the labor market and that the government should not have left it to collapse. The columnist also hailed the governments’ full support of the idea because of the huge losses recorded by the company, an idea opposed by Sonati in the Wall Street Journal.
The company had witnessed a $7 billion loss in the previous two quarters. The employees at the bank were never willing to dispose off their shares because of the deteriorating financial capability of the bank. On the contrary, the banks’ top officials tried to convince potential investors that the bank could still survive on its own by alleging to have received many stakes in its investment management division.
Many bidders were willing to salvage the bank including the leading financial institutions in the country. Barclays had a strategy that could facilitate it to acquire the bank without any government support. Some other reports suggested that the bank could be broken into parts so that many individuals and organizations accessed the shares of the bank.
Frangos (2008) in the Wall Street Journal (Online and Print) points out that Mark Walsh had contributed to the collapse of commercial-property market and he was being faced by the same problem. The writer has a different ideology; he comments that the firm was declared bankrupt mainly because of mismanagement.
The Frangos differs with White and Dash, writing in the New York Times, ideologically because the later blames the government for not intervening to salvage the firm while the former relates the whole saga to the management. The columnist points out that the $32.6 billion loans and assets were the major causes of the collapse of the bank.
The company was forced to sale most of the properties and shares at a loss of 20% amounting to about $7billion. The chief executive of L and L Holding David Levinson observed that Mr. Walsh made a number of individuals rich especially those at Lehman hence the collapse of the bank was unexpected, Lattaman opposes this reasoning.
The columnist describes Mr. Walsh as an aggressive and analytical individual who left nothing unturned pertaining to financial matters. Many people liked his character although the same character brought him down. He engaged in so many deals without consulting proper agencies thus leading Lehman into financial crisis through loans and borrowing.
Some of the properties acquired by the company throughout his tenure were valueless. Lehman is accused of making great bets on residential land speculations such as SunCal Cos in California. The writer idealizes that Mr. Walsh should be accused for underrating the 2007 global financial crisis because he went ahead to buying properties and investing in risky businesses.
The thinking of the columnist is in line with his ideology that poor management and managerial skills contributed to downfall of the major companies in the United States. This ideology opened people’s minds since the public started questioning the integrity of senior employees of the firm.
Lattman (2009) in The Wall Street Journal (Online and Print) wrote about the decision made by Lehman Brothers to delink private-equity arm with the collapsed parent firm. His findings are incongruent to those of Frangos mainly because the subsidiary firm was being managed competently and living it to operate under the direction of the parent firm would be problematic.
The columnist differs slightly with White and Dash because the former does not believe that the losses witnessed by the firm were genuine. Lattman postulates that Lehman could still perform unequivocally by showing that the subsidiaries under Lehman were performing extremely well. The Lehman’s current unit of $3.3 billion is to be owned by the incoming management led by chief Charlie Ayers.
The Lehman’s bankruptcy estate is to hold back ownership of a vehicle worth $1.2. Although the company might have recorded the worst bankruptcy ever in the United States history, the incoming company will inherit most of its employees. The columnist, unlike Frangos appreciates the roles played by various categories of employees in sustaining and accomplishing the missions of the company.
He notes that most of the countries’ financial institutions identified Lehman success while attributing the same to employees. The writer comes up with another ideology, arguing that Lehman is not completely out of investment field because currently, it operates a sales process for two huge Lehman’s investment units worth $800 million (capital firm) and $10billion (real-estate private equity group).
This reasoning is meant to give hope to shareholders who trusted the company. The company has full knowledge of the market, knowing that it is highly unpredictable therefore retaining some investments. Sanati (2009) found out that the insolvency of Lehman Brothers was a transformational change. The writers’ views are meant to console the Lehman Brothers Company by reaffirming that the firm’s shares were valued and could fetch high profits.
The collapse of the company was therefore not all in vain, because its shares raised Barclays’ profit just in the first quarter of the year. Barclays recorded $1.36 billion profit, which is equated to four times more than the usual profit. Such an ideology is aimed at raising the profitability of the shareholders of the collapsed company and tries to justify that the company was still known.
Unlike the previous columnists, especially White and Dash, Sanati is optimistic that one day the obsolete company may make a comeback. The Barclay’s income for insurance covers shot by 42% from $8.6 billion to 12.2 billion. The company has many shares in real estate investments due to shares acquired from Lehman Brothers.
Barclays could not have registered such a huge profit could it not have acquired Lehman Company. The acquisition of the Lehman Company was therefore a blessing to Barclays bank. Conversely, the columnist opines Lehman could be a big multinational had it survived the 2007 financial crisis, an idea that does not go down well with White and Dash. Sanati holds this ideology because Lehman’s shares picked up immediately the company was sold to Barclays.
As earlier noted, the fall of the company was something unexpected since its shares were of high value. Beaudette (2010) observed that the lawyers and financial analysts were working out on the ways of obtaining maximum fees before December 2009. The essayist agrees with both Wall Street and New York Times writers who had earlier given their perceptions pertaining to the collapse of the company.
He alludes that the company was defrauded millions of dollars by people who read mischief. Lehman had prepared a financial list showing the figures paid to experts. Beaudette holds the same viewpoint with Eavis, observing that the financial analysts presented fake figures and made the companies’ officials believe that everything was well. The company in return paid a total of $568.7 million in fees and expenses.
Alvarez and Marsal alone received $218.3million as fees for winding down Lehman’s operations. The fees were too high to the extent that Lehman sought the assistance of chapter 11 of the constitution to protect it from exploitation. Lehman filled one of the largest bankruptcy cases being the most expensive in the U.S history.
It is established that before changing hands, Lehman spent many resources in protecting its properties legally. Some of the company’s assets were sold out in order to cater for lawyers’ fees. The court established that Lehman Brothers holdings had a number of cases, amounting up to 65,000 even though some were deemed duplicates.
Findings suggest that experts contributed in the downfall of Lehman Company because they took advantage of its deprived position in the market. They utilized this opportunity to claim huge amounts of money in form of fees and other expenses. One expert was quoted recently admitting that he defrauded Lehman Brothers millions of dollars.
The columnist suggests that honesty and trustworthiness lacked among the employees and clients of the company. The experts colluded with lawyers and external financial experts to deprive the company of its resources.
Beales and Cox (2010) agree with Beaudette (2010) that not only did the financial crisis contribute to the bank’s collapse but also other factors such as lack of government funding, false information given out to the public by competitors and of course mistrust and corruption within the precincts of the company.
The immediate head of the organization postulated that his company was not given sufficient attention by the government the way other small and unprofitable companies were treated. He cited that the government was discriminatory and partial in bailing out private corporations. The government gave a very weak reason why it refused to rescue Lehman from uncertainty of economic crises.
The commission put up to examine the problem found itself in an uncomfortable position because amendments had already been made that would allow improved system monitoring and coordination between regulators. The commission could not do much because of the existing disparities among politicians, government officials and bank regulators.
The columnists suggest that the laws existing now should have been passed a long time to facilitate continuity after prior crises. On their part, the two writers squarely blame the government for being reluctant in taking care of the states’ financial activities. They suggested the state intervention at some point to restore normalcy in during crises.
Eavis (2010) in the Wall Street Journal seemed to concur with Rob and Beales’ ideas because the court moved to appoint Lehman Brothers examiner while it never did so for other companies such as AIG. Mr. Valukas came up with a report to shape the public’s perception about the fall of the company. The report gives a comprehensive report on the position of American investments such as Citigroup Bear Stearners.
The report also concluded that it was unfair for the congress to offer support and protection to few companies while neglecting others. It questions the criteria used to come up with names of companies that benefited from government funding. The writer posits that the government should never rush into funding or bailing out companies without proper examination in future. Efficient scrutiny helps in driving out bad behaviors in the governmental system.
The report by Valukas shows the top executive of Lehman cheating by making fake financial statements (Eavis, 2010). The findings keep at bay such practices to discourage fraud. The recent bailout of AIG suggests that the government needs to establish a proper bailout procedure to avoid the same scenario. The writer concludes that even though the suggestion will be met with a lot of hostility, it should be formalized to safeguard taxpayer’s money from misappropriations.
Brickley (2010) holds the same position with Sanati (2009) but contradicts Frangos’ (2008) and Beaudette’s (2010) ideas. He postulates that Lehman Brothers is in a process of forming a $15 million bonus pool for 2011 for about 175 workers. The attempt aims at transforming some of its derivatives deas into cash. At the time of its collapse, the company had 10,000 derivatives contacts amounting to over 1.7 million transactions.
The company has so far recovered $11 billion from the derivatives according to official reports from the court. The company has managed to obtain a bankruptcy-court approval intended to supply $50 million in bonuses. Its quest to setting up the 2011 bonus pool is affected by migration of workers to other companies.
The court helped the company by authorizing the reduction of bonuses due to voluntary departures of employees with only half remaining. The company is also in the process of trying to convince the court to allow reimbursement of $10 million in insurance proceeds to some of its former top executives in order to enable them pay the costs of legal suits.
The writer gives an opinion that the company is trying to fight for its comeback by first enticing the workers with bonuses. The columnist is proposing that in any company, workers are the most important elements because they are in charge of propelling the institution. This writer denies at all that company officials were partly to blame for the downfall of the bank. The writer blames the government for neglecting Lehman Brothers.
Liz and Rapoport (2010) in The Wall Street Journal alleged that Lehman Brothers sued an accounting firm by the name Ernst and Young for defrauding the bank. The Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is said to have accused the accounting firm for obtaining funds illegally from the defunct bank. Brickley and Sanati, arguing that the company could have salvaged itself before the crisis, hold this position.
The firm is accused of coming up with ghost figures that would make the company look to be in better position financially. The writer agrees with other columnists that the financial status of the bank were depleted long time ago although experts were not willing to expose this to the public. The columnist observes that the bank could have collapsed because of accounting issues unlike previous reports that suggested otherwise.
It is also established that the accounting firm had been benefiting from the proceeds of the bank during the good financial times enjoyed by the bank. The accounting firm in particular is accused of not giving proper advice to the bank in 2007 when Lehman transferred U.S securities to its London affiliate, the consultant never disclosed any fault in instead gave out clean audit accounts.
The columnist concludes that Lehman’s bankruptcy was the latest but more serious as far as problems are concerned. Both clients and employees seem to have slept on their jobs hence plunging the company into financial tribulations. Wall Street Journal Staff roundup summarizes the findings and events that had occurred following the company’s demise.
The findings are extracted from the bankruptcy-court examiner that was investigating the collapse of the company. It was found that top management played a bigger role in the plummet of the company. Senior officials in charge of balance sheet management and financial disclosure never took necessary steps. Other writers in both the Wall Street Journal confined these sentiments, including Liz, Rapoport, Eavis and Lattman.
They failed to expose the company’s utilization and extent of Repo 105, which could have aided in administering the balance sheet. Another finding was that Ernst and Young never acted professional in conducting research pertaining to Lee’s claims and concerning auditing and evaluation of Lehman’s financial statements.
Another reason that facilitated the bank’s demise is its misinformed policy whereby it focused on the Repo 105 market, in which companies dispose assets in exchange for money to erect projects in a few days or hours. The company is accused of being over-ambitious and non-considerate in identifying viable projects. The bank is reported to have been anxious in maintaining desired credit ratings making it look as if it had less debt on its books of accounts.
Even though the report states that the available evidence could possibly assist the collapsed bank find the truth, the allegation is not strong enough. J.P Morgan is mentioned in the report as one of the parties breaching the stipulated accord of good faith and fair-trading by engaging in too much collateral requests to Lehman in September 2008.
Mannheim, K. (1996). The problems of ‘false consciousness’ and of the nature of reality henceforth take on a different Source: Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia. London: Routledge.
Marx, K. & Engels, F. (2003). Communist manifesto. Rockville, MD: Wildside Press LLC.
Sanati, C. (2009). Lehman unit helps lift Barclays’ profit. Web.
Sergent, L. (2008). Contemporary political ideologies: A comparative analysis. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Weiler, K. (2001). Feminist engagements: Reading, resisting, and revisioning male theorists. London: Routledge.
Media convergence is more than the coming together of media platforms (Dominick, 2009). Media convergence can also be understood in the context of collaboration. For example, the Internet does not undermine the capability of news bureaus.
But on the contrary the successful integration of Information Technology and conventional forms of mass media communication can produce a competitive advantage over others (Dale & Lewis, 2012). From the perspective of consumers they can access information at a faster and more cost-efficient rate (Sterling, 2009).
From the perspective of journalists and publishers they can reach a greater number of people as compared to their normal capability through the traditional forms of selling their newspaper. There is no better example of the powerful impact of media convergence than in the transformation of a particular mass media communication platform such as newspaper publication.
With convergence it is no longer necessary to buy an actual newspaper in order to read the news (Wilde 2008). The byproduct of this convergence is now called alternative media and it is both a blessing and curse for media moguls but it has forever transformed the way people access news information.
Before going any further it is important to clarify the evolution of media from mass media to alternative media. When one talks about mass media communication major publishers of newspapers come to mind, like the Washington Post and the New York Times. Into this list one can add CNN, NBC and others.
Since modern forms of mass media communication have been a part of modern life since the latter part of the 19th century, one can argue that this is the traditional way to broadcast news.
In the 20th century newspapers became a fixture in modern homes. Breakfast time is characterized with a coffee on one hand and a newspaper on the other. Thus, this method of communication can also be labeled as traditional forms of mass media communication.
The evolution from traditional mass media communication to alternative media compelled corporate leaders to embrace Information Technology because they can no longer deny the fact that the only way to retain and increase their market share is to digitize their service (Valee, 2003). The evolution from mass media communication is not a linear process.
There is a great deal of integration and lateral movement (Waltz, 1995. This assertion is based on the fact that not all people use alternative media (Wilson & Cohen, 1991). At the same time media moguls continue to dominate the production and dissemination of news stories. But if one understands the reasons behind the emergence of alternative media, one can understand how to use and appreciate this new form of news delivery.
The emergence of alterative media is due to the Internet and the World-Wide-Web. These two related technologies made it possible to create networks of computers and enhance the communication process in a global scale. The development of portable computers like personal computers, laptops and smart phones created a new way to deliver information.
But more importantly, these technologies enable an ordinary person to create and broadcast news. The only thing required is a basic understanding on how to build websites and blogs and they can begin to share their insights and thoughts worldwide. This capability gave rise to alternative media.
The tremendous potential of Information Technology was not enough to convince newspaper publishers that the heyday of news on paper was near its end. The reason why many people did not believe that digital news can surpass the capability of traditional newspapers can be understood if one examines the difference between mass media and alternative media.
A major difference between the two can be seen in truthfulness and objectivity of information gathered by the respective reporters, writers, and journalists. Old school journalism uses a high standard in the way information are gathered and consolidated before it is released to the public. In the case of news released through websites, there is no need to hire a large staff.
Most of the time the proponents do not have the money to hire professionals. In most cases, a few people are forced to perform multiple tasks such as research, writing and even the repair and maintenance of computers. Thus, it is difficult to determine the reliability of the information released for public consumption.
Conventional mass media organizations operate at a different levels. Journalists are expected to follow a certain ethical standards related to their work. A high level of professionalism is needed. The reporters will do everything in their power to provide a truthful account of the event that they covered.
They are conscientious in their investigative work in order to sustain a high level of integrity in their profession. They are also aware that people can sue them in court if they write something that can be considered as libel. In other words there are stringent rules that pertain to accountability.
Alterative media cannot boast of the same standards. It is difficult to monitor and confront those who do not have a physical address. However, newspaper publications can have flaws. One problematic issue is the selective release of information.
There can be various reasons why newspaper publishers chose to ignore certain events and consider these things not newsworthy (Streissguth, 2007, p.81). But there are those who may think that this particular publisher played it safe in the decision not to release information. The need to access information paved the way for the emergence of alternative media.
The convergence of media that resulted in the digitized form of The New York Times and Washington Post is the testament to the power of Information Technology and the changing needs of people.
The radical change in terms of the way people consume news information prompted one analyst to comment: “we are no longer a national audience receiving news from a handful of trusted gatekeepers; we’re now a million or more clusters of consumers, harvesting information from like-minded providers” (Fallows, 2011, p.1). The digitized versions of newspaper are cheaper to produce as opposed to those made out of paper.
Assessment
Information was gathered through a carefully analysis of digitized versions of newspapers as well as commentaries from those who studied the differences of conventional mass media communication and alternative media. These sources also illustrated the fact that media convergence is something that is achieved in a non-linear way. In other words alternative media will not be able to eradicate mass media.
The source of information is the World-Wide-Web. Therefore, the proponent of this study collected information through the use of the Internet. In this case it can be argued that the Internet is a new form of mass media communication. A review of the sources used was a great help when it comes to the realization that newspaper publishers have no choice but to embrace Information Technology.
For those who embraced IT-based technologies the transition was one of the challenging portions of their lives. Many were hesitant at first but when they saw the level of participation from clients they were forced to adopt this form of technology.
There were challenges encountered through the data gathering phase of the project (Dale & Lewis, 2010). As mentioned earlier alternative media like blogs and news websites can deliver unreliable information. It is therefore important to check the source of the information given by people (Sloan & Mackay, 2007, p.5).
Conclusion
The convergence of media is best illustrated with the digitized versions of established newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post. It has been made clear that convergence is not only integration.
It is a non-linear development process. But in the case of newspapers it can be argued that the publishers were able to enjoy the best of both worlds. In other words the consumers can rely on a high level of professionalism from editors and journalists. At the same time they can reach a bigger number of people because they are no longer limited by time. Information Technology paved the way for easier access for customers.
At first media moguls were hesitant to embrace this new form of technology. But when they realized the potential of the said technology they made.
The customers were the one who greatly benefited from the transition and the transformation of the process. Traditional mass media communication created a more widely-accepted process in which people are not only interconnected but also has the capacity to express their thoughts and opinions
References
Dale, N. & Lewis, J. (2010). Computer science illuminated. MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Dominick, J. (2009). The dynamics of mass communication: media in the digital age. New York: Mc-Graw Hill.
The civil rights movement of 1954-1968 began with stating the idea that the school segregation was one of the most discriminatory factors to accentuate differences in the white and black population. Thus, the period of struggles associated with the concept of school desegregation started. The social reaction to the idea was so intensive that newspaper authors tried to focus more attention on covering the events which changed the history of not only American education but also American society. The main idea of the school desegregation was the struggle for the opportunity to put white Americans and African Americans in the same classroom environments to emphasize their equal rights.
The struggle for breaking the barriers between the dominant and minority groups in education and society was divided into several stages, and it is important to focus on covering these stages and achievements in the newspaper articles published during the period of 1954-1968. In spite of the fact that many newspaper authors covered the school desegregation events rather subjectively, the approaches to discussing the process of school desegregation in the American states are different in relation to the American newspapers and African American newspapers.
To describe the traditional approach to covering the school desegregation events during 1954-1968, it is necessary to refer to the articles in such famous historical American newspapers as the New York Herald Tribune, theChicago Tribune, and the New York Times. The intended audience of these newspapers was the dominant white population of the United States. This factor is also reflected in the manners to present the events and to analyze the African Americans’ achievements in the field.
Thus, in his article “States Divided or Delaying: Arkansas” published in the New York Times in 1956, Damon Stetson focuses on the successes of different states in relation to the school desegregation and concludes that the only factor to explain the success of Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Missouri in school desegregation activities is the number of the African American population in these states. As a result, Arkansas cannot be discussed as the state who realized the school desegregation effectively because it faced a lot of economic challenges due to the necessity to support many African American students in integrated schools (Stetson 3S). The hidden meaning of Stetson’s statements is that the economy of many American states cannot support the results of the school desegregation effectively.
In 1958, Woodrow Wilson Mann published the article “The Truth about Little Rock” in New York Herald Tribune in which he addressed the desires of the public to learn more about the Little Rock events of 1957. The author discussed the resistance of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus as the actions which controversially supported the vision of the public in relation to the necessity of the school desegregation in the country (Mann 20). In ten years, the article “New Programs Offered for High School Dropouts” published in Chicago Tribune presents the advantages of the programs to support the African American students in the context of the wide school desegregation (“New Programs Offered for High School Dropouts” S4). From this point, it is possible to observe the evolution in the authors’ visions of the role of school desegregation for the American society with references to the biased discussions of the early 1950s and active supportive discussion of the 1960s.
On the contrary, the articles published in the African American newspapers are characterized by the active support of the school desegregation events from their beginning and in relation to their further development. The intended audience of the Chicago Defender is the African Americans living in Chicago community. In spite of the fact that the authors of the newspaper were inclined to cover the true events for their audience, the content of the newspaper’s articles can be discussed as rather biased because of the much focus on discussing the ineffective position and policies of the US government. Thus, in his article “Students Flunk in Biggest Exam” published in 1958, Howard Gould pays much attention to the fact that African American students should have about fifty scholarship qualifiers in the examinations, but the majority of the students failed because of the ineffectiveness of the policy (Gould A8).
The author also states that the achievements of the school segregation movement are challenged because the US government cannot develop the effective policies to address the needs of the African American students. In the article “DuSable to Get Cheers” published in 1960, the further critique of the US policies and educational programs is provided (“DuSable to Get Cheers” 19). It is possible to note that such biased articles worked to attract the African Americans’ attention to the issue and to persuade that the further struggle for the rights in the field was necessary.
Thus, the reviewed articles published in the American and African American newspapers can be discussed as reflecting the school desegregation events only from the one perspective which is advantageous for the authors and for the community. As a result, the conclusions presented in the articles are rather biased and partial.
Works Cited
“DuSable to Get Cheers”. Chicago Defender 1960: 19. Print.
Gould, Howard. “Students Flunk in Biggest Exam”. Chicago Defender. 1958: A8. Print.
Mann, Woodrow Wilson. “The Truth about Little Rock”. New York Herald Tribune. 1958: 20. Print.
“New Programs Offered for High School Dropouts”. Chicago Tribune. 1968: S4. Print.
Stetson, Damon. “States Divided or Delaying: Arkansas”. New York Times 1956: 3S. Print.