Are we seeing a decline in print publications?

It is evident from the recent reports that the print media is under a declining stage all over the world. The readers are having a paradigm shift from newspapers to the online medium of news. A steady decline in print circulation and a precipitous drop in advertising revenue, especially classified advertising, have taken their toll on newspapers and newspaper chains. Print sales of Newspapers might only be going in one direction, but their websites are recording huge surges in readers. Introduction of the iPhone (2007) and smart phones has really accelerated the pace of decline.

In the international scenario some have been forced out of business, such as the Rocky Mountain News, the Seattle Post Intelligencer (at least its print operation - an online-only version continues) and the Ann Arbor News (which also will continue an online edition as well as a print product twice a week). Others filed for bankruptcy reorganization, such as Tribune Company, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Philadelphia Newspapers company, the Chicago Sun Times, the Journal Register Co., American Community Newspapers, Freedom Communications, Heartland Publications, Creative Loafing and the Columbian newspaper in Vancouver. Others, such as Morris Publishing and Affiliated Media (the parent company of Media News Group), did bankruptcy reorganization filings prearranged with creditors. But, The Johnston Press, the 246-year-old newspaper publisher, recorded a total of 11,144,376 visitors.

In India only five out of 10 top English dailies saw a growth in their readership this quarter as compared to 7 in the previous quarter. Online advertising spend in India is expected to reach Rs 2,700 crore in Jan-Dec 2013. It’s a 31% growth as compared to previous year, with Internet advertising taking 7% share of the overall Indian advertising market. The decline in Indian print media isn't as pronounced as it is in the west yet. However, early signs of declining readership, flow of English readers from print to digital media and increasing advertising pressure can not be ignored. There are 87 million mobile internet users in India which are expected to grow by 164 million by 2015. And nearly 40% of the mobile Internet users have already ditched newspapers to consume content on Smartphone.

In order to survive some papers are also changing the kind of coverage provided in the print product, focusing less on breaking news, which the Internet is much better suited to deliver, and more on analytic or contextual stories.