Essay 2

What impact has the internet and digital media had on editorial design and publications?

Amidst the surge in the dominance of the internet and digital media, the imminent question of whether print is dead looms; assessed within Print is Dead Long Live Print (2015), the reality is that online publications provide information ‘faster and more cheaply’, which threatens the relevance of printed matter today (Jamieson, R. and Currell, A). Arguably, it is prominent that the internet has altered consumer behaviour in the media industry, with people having more news and entertainment options and ‘myriad ways to consume them’ (Lisk, J., 2019). Nethertheless, in the face of a seemingly inevitable end, in a multitude of ways, print is being revived; physical magazines are recognised as ‘hiding’ in independent spaces ‘outside of commercial publishing’ (Deighton, K., 2018). That being so, the debate on the future of print is now salient in the ever-changing landscape of the editorial design and publication industry.

It’s no secret that in recent years, printed matter has been overshadowed by digital media; to some extent, print ‘as we knew it’ can even be branded as ‘dead or dying’ (Jamieson, R. and Currell, A). This rather hostile attack the internet poses to print can be split in two fronts, discussed in Print is Dead Long Live Print (2015), it ‘erodes their readership’ and ‘tempts away’ advertisers due to the ease and effectiveness of online advertising within the age of data collection (Jamieson, R. and Currell, A). The readership of printed matter has perhaps been destroyed due to the accessibility of mass data the internet offers; so much so it has been named ‘the Guntenberg press on steroids’ (Wortham, J., 2017). Consequently, it comes as no surprise that newspapers in recent years have ceased printing altogether - a major example being The Independents’ decision to solely operate digitally in 2016 (BBC News, 2016). This effort in remaining relevant to consumers was implemented in order to ‘preserve the Independent brand’ and allow the platform to attract ‘more and more readers’ according to ESI’s owner, Evgeny Lebedev (2016). Shifts in advertising revenues can also be to blame for the decline of print; according to MediaPlanet (2019), global print advertising is expected to ‘decline by 8.7 percent’ (Lisk, J., 2019), threatening the financial stability of the print industry.  

With many big publications abandoning ship to digital, the role of editorial designers is ever changing through new requirements of skill sets. In an interview from Talk to the Newsroom (2008), Steven Duenes provides an insight into the initial introduction of online articles whilst working as graphics editor for The New York Times; labelling the process as a ‘newsroom-wide integration’. Duenes’ responsibility as a designer became heavily focused on ‘interactive features’ (Figure 1), which in his experience called for working alongside other departments with ‘specialised skills’. Duenes elaborates on how in the wake of the internet, there is a ‘temptation to publish more data simply because we have it’; this chaotic nature of digital media opens responsibility for designers to curate and manage data, described as making digital media ‘easily navigable’ (Duenes, S., 2008). 

On the contrary, to declare that print is dead altogether would be widely considered ignorant; once deemed an ‘old-fashioned content marketing staple’, print now serves a unique way to ‘break through the digital advertising clutter’ (Lisk, J., 2019). The argument that print remains relevant today is evident in certain business models of todays’ successful magazines; a prime instance of this can be seen in the British style magazine Dazed and Confused (part of the Dazed group), that continues to have a strong consumer base for their bi-monthly printed magazine. In an interview with The Financial Times (2015), Dazed co-founder Jefferson Hack credits the magazines’ consumer ethos for its’ success in the digital age; a good benefit in ‘staying relevant’ is that ‘its target audience have always been those against the norm’ (Garrahan, M., 2015). Consequently, although print for some media outlets may be considered a dead-end, names such as Dazed and Confused use consumer attitudes to their advantage to reclaim their reputation as a magazine that ‘sticks a thorn in the establishment’ (Hack, J., 2015). 

Linking to this defiance of printed matter in the internet age, there has been an efflux in the consumption of independent zines in recent years; crowned as ‘going through a strong revival’ throughout ‘the past five years’ (Hansen, J., 2017). In an abundance of ways, it is arguable that the internet is to be credited for this revitalisation of zine popularity; according to co-founder of the NYC Feminist Zinefest, Elvis B, the zine revival is a representation of the growing ‘resistance to survallience’ of the digital world (Huffpost, 2017). In essence, zines present a counter-culture against the ‘culture of toxicity’ existing within the internet (Wortham, J., 2017); Shakar Mujukian (publisher of the Hye-Phen), notes that zine culture is ‘essentially about reclamation’ in which creatives can ‘define’ their own ‘narratives’ in a ‘radical act’ (The New York Times, 2017). The ramifications of this zine rebellion can be recognised as a growing demand for tangible products that introduce the idea that the internet is ‘adept at compressing humanity’ (Mujukian, S., 2017); exemplary figures in this revolution consist of names such as ‘Sparerib’ and ‘Galdem’ (Figure 2 and 3), (Deighton, K., 2018). However, the concern for the financial longevity for independent publishing still exists, as their ‘short life spans’ may indicate ‘an industry without a financially viable future’ (Deighton, K., 2018). Mirroring this fear, within Print is Dead Long Live Print (2015), Rob Orchard of Delayed Gratification labels constraints that ‘the sums just don’t add up’ within printed zine publishing. 

However, with recent developments in technology, could it be possible to create a hybrid to settle the fight for relevance between digital and printed matter? To investigate this avenue, Dazed co-founder, Jefferson Hack decided to create the first LED screen magazine with a moving image for its cover; Hack warranted the experiment to ‘bring technology to print’. This revolutionary design sparked the ‘debate for whether there could be a market for digital hybrids’ (Garrahan, M., 2015), but there are limitations with the mass appeal for hybrid products; the initial product was deemed ‘a very high end piece of hardware’, and ‘not suitable’ for mass consumption (Hack, J., 2015).  

In an abundance of ways, it would seem undeniable that the world of printed matter and editorial design is rapidly evolving in the face of digital media; with a copious amount of titles such as the likes of The Guardian and The Independent abandoning a once beloved platform in efforts to stay relevant amidst growing digital outlets (BBC, 2016). With a drought in advertising revenue for tangible matter, the extinction of print seems inevitable due to the efficiency of digital data collection and ‘cookies’; arguably it appears that the readership of printed publications is declining, as consumers now demand information at both a faster rate and larger quantities (Jamieson, R. and Currell, A, 2015). However, polar to this, the internet has in fact contributed to a growing popularity of independent zines in a surge of rebellion against the pollution of digital media; in recent years, printed media has reclaimed the reputation of an intimate and quality product that cuts through the somewhat inhuman nature of the internet realm (Mujukian, S., 2017). Resultantly, the world of printed matter refuses to ‘die’ at the feet of digital media; it is a platform that in unremarkable ways, still exists as a personal and cherished product, rejuvenating itself within the online world. ‘This is not a continuation, but a rebirth’ (Jamieson, R. and Currell, A, 2015). 

Bibliography

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