Media Debate: Is print media going into extinction?

There was this rumour some time back that with the advent of social media, print media was heading for the gallows. So we sought the views of some people in the media with the question, “Is print media going into extinction?”

Francis Abban, News Anchor and Journalist, Joy FM

I think print risks extinction but it all depends on what the industry players make of the current situation. The new media is ripping the traditional media to shreds but other media are roping it in and making new products with it. A typical example is how radio and TV programmes turn the social media into an interactive segment in their shows.  Print newspapers like the New York Times and the Guardian Newspaper have found it prudent to build web portals and social media feeds that still keep the readership and market share intact. Unfortunately, in Ghana, only Daily Graphic and Daily Guide newspapers have a vibrant up-to-minute updated websites which also promotes content in their newspaper. 

Marketing in Africa: Finding the perfect fit for Ghana

In the days of old, town criers, gong gongs and banners were but a few of the methods employed by individuals to create awareness for their goods and services. Shoemakers, bread sellers, tailors, etc would come up with songs and chants as they walked past houses and rooms, all in a bid to gain publicity. In Ghana, these can still be seen, especially when one pays a visit to the marketplace.

According to africanoutlookonline.com, the African traditional media are the indigenous means of communication in various countries. They reflect in the various talking drums, folk songs, drama, festivals, town criers, traditional wears, the artifacts, art works, paintings, folklore, among other cultural architecture that reflect in the palaces, shrines, and African cities, towns and villages.

The fossilizing age of print media

I heard a rumour some time back that with the advent of social media, print media was heading for the gallows. As to who propagated this rumour, I cannot tell, but there is this fear that print media will be going into extinction soon. Well, with the ever increasing advancement of technology and the need for things to be done quickly and now; it will not be entirely hazardous to project the irrelevance of print media in the not so distant future.