dasiagradstudent-blog

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Magazines

As a child and a teenager, I loved magazines. I loved being able to go to the magazine aisle at the grocery store  and look through my favorite magazines. My favorite magazines are Essence and Ebony. As a teenager, I also liked to read Teen Vogue and Seventeen. In fact, I actually collected Teen Vogue and still have a stack of them in my old room. As I entered adulthood, I read magazines less and less. Now a days I seldom read or buy magazines at all. In this day and age, I receive most of my content from digital platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. As the media industry is ever changing, technology plays a very significant role in all types. 

Studies show that people aged 30-59 read magazines the most (Statista, n.d.). This is a very believable fact because most people in that age range did not grow up with technology like millennials did. They are used to traditional print platforms. 

Although magazines still seem to be thriving, they aren’t doing as well as they once were. “Price Waterhouse Coopers forecasts that magazine revenues will decline at a compound annual rate of -0.5%, from $68.43 billion in 2015 to $66.62 billion in 2020″ (Benedict, 2018). Magazine earnings are also expected to decline more dramatically due to consumers preferring free digital content (Benedict, 2018). 

Nonetheless, magazines are still here and still capture my attention from time to time. They are different from my usual digital way of viewing content because of the obvious physicality. Magazines have pages and digital content is on a phone or laptop screen. However, they are similar in format because they way a magazine page could look with text and pictures is usually formatted the same on digital magazines or platforms. They are also both flooded with ads. 

After this switch-up, I feel inspired to read magazines more. I want to re-kindle my love for a physical magazine copy that keeps my attention from page to page, because in the future, magazines may no longer exist. Only time will tell their fate. 

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Is Print Media dying? Print vs. Digital Media

Is print media dying? I would say...yes. With the digital world becoming increasingly advanced, digital media is inevitably taking over. I know from experience. I’ve worked at both print and media outlets.

My media journey began in 2016 with working at the Tennessee Tribune, a small black-owned newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. During my time there I learned a lot and wrote a handful of articles. The articles were published and printed in the paper, however, I noticed firsthand the effects of digital media when I was also taught how to post the articles to the newspaper’s website. We honestly focused more on website content, than the physical copy of the paper. It was at this internship that I knew, print media is slowly becoming a thing of the past. 

Print media, is one of the oldest forms of communication, and include magazines, newspapers, banners, and graphics (Quora, 2018). With the growth of digital platforms however, print publications need digital mediums to survive in this day and age (Inci, 2016).

“The increased use of digital media is changing people’s everyday lives and the way they connect and collaborate in the broader societal context, at work and in civil society” (World Economic Forum, n.d.). “It is enabling unprecedented levels of communication, social interaction and community building across boundaries of time, place and social context.“

Fast forward to 2018, I now have experience working at two different local television stations, and digital makes the world go round. At both of my stations, the digital aspect was just as, if not more important than the televised newscasts. I was constantly writing stories to post to the website, editing video to post to the website, sending mobile push alerts, and posting to and updating social media. Digital platforms are now determining factors into how television outlets are performing. 

As for me, I am a millennial and grew up during the boom of the internet. I have an understanding of both traditional print media and thriving digital media. As a child and teenager, I was a frequent reader of magazines. I loved the feeling of having a physical copy and being able to flip through the pages. While those feelings have not changed, as I got older technology became more advanced and I find myself reading and receiving news from majority digital platforms. 

Although digital platforms continue to thrive, print media outlets have not completely died. However, only time will tell if print media will become a thing of the past. 

[dasiagradstudent-blog]

Are you Linked In?

This week, I decided to spend some time on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a social media platform that is used by many for professional purposes. Users utilize the platform to market themselves professionally with information like work history, degrees, and certifications in order to network with employers or find jobs. My history with LinkedIn is rather brief. I made my LinkedIn profile about two years ago, in 2017. Then, I made it with the intent to put myself out there. I was just starting out in the journalism field and as a young professional, I wanted to connect with other professionals. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlUwwgOfKw&feature=youtu.be

In 2018, I came to the realization that working as an Assignment Editor for a local news station was not my calling and that i did not wish to continue the career. In August of 2018, I left my job to focus on finding something that better suited my work-life balance. It was then, that I started to use LinkedIn much more frequently. I was actively looking for a opportunity and I utilized LinkedIn as a tool to market myself and search for jobs. 

Both when I first started using LinkedIn and when I used it on a frequent basis, I couldn’t help but notice that the platform was not like the social media that I was used to. The main reason for this is because LinkedIn is pretty much strictly professional. The main social platforms that I use no matter what, Instagram and Twitter, are not ones that I use for professional purposes. 

On LinkedIn, there is not much use of images on LinkedIn. There is mainly use of text or words. The majority of images seen on LinkedIn are profile pictures. LinkedIn serves a wide range of demographics. I say this because users could range from millennials looking for jobs, or middle-aged people who are looking to hire. The age range and demographic information varies. There are not many advertisements on LinkedIn. Brands mainly use the platform as a way to market job openings. 

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It’s all about... YOUTUBE

When thinking of a social media site to analyze for this week’s media switch-up, one of the first things that came to mind was Youtube. To be honest, Youtube is the perfect social platform to analyze. It’s such a large and influential platform, that it is hard to go unnoticed. “If the internet is a galaxy of strange worlds, then YouTube is one of the biggest by population and popularity.”

https://www.youtube.com/

According to Hootsuite, 96% of Americans between the ages o 18 to 24 use Youtube. “Essentially every Gen Zer with an internet connection is on the platform. This is not so surprising, given that historically YouTube has been very, very free” (Cooper, 2019). 

Although I fit the age range of typical Youtube users, I typically do not use the social platform. It’s not that I have anything against Youtube, but more of just a personal preference. It probably has something to do with the fact that I don’t always have the patience to watch videos that are longer than a few seconds. That notion may explain my particular liking to Instagram and Twitter. Youtube is all about videos. They may range from tutorials, to music videos, to web shows; you name it! 

Below is an example of a Youtube tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-bhj_yh8qk

I think that one of the biggest joys of Youtube is it’s diversity and wide array of content. It’s like one huge platform that gives any and everyone a chance to be creative and share their lives and talents with the world. It’s also refreshing that the majority of those who take advantage of this free platform are young. They use this to really make their mark on the world and in a lot of cases, launch promising and successful careers. With that being said, although Youtube is a “switch-up” for me, I’m not afraid to acknowledge the fact that it’s iconic, and essentially a part of American, even global culture. 

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Media Switch Up 2

1. Snapchat

2. This selection differs from my usual media habits because of the fact that I rarely use snapchat. I essentially use the same social apps the majority of the time which would be Instagram and Twitter. I do have some familiarity with Snapchat however. I know how it works and it differs from what I normally use due to the fact that there is little to know text. It consists of viewing pictures and/or videos in the form of a “story.”

3. What’s interesting about the community that uses Snapchat is the demographic or audience. Users tend to be younger, which is a different as opposed to Facebook, which is what I discussed last week. Snapchat users tend to also use Instagram.

4. I think that Snapchat definitely is geared towards a younger demographic. Those in their teens to late twenties are more commonly users of the media site. The interests of this demographic are definitely centered around pop culture, celebrities, and entertainment.

5. As mentioned before, I found the lack of text or words to be interesting about snapchat. You can write brief captions and send messages, but as a whole, Snapchat stories are more visually focused.

6. Entertainment outlets such as Buzzfeed, MTV, Beauty Insider, etc. These outlets use Snapchat for promotional content purposes. It differs from the way a normal user would utilize it.

7. I think that those who use Snapchat on a constant basis are more visual people.

[dasiagradstudent-blog]

Media Switch Up

1. Facebook

2. This differs from my usual media consumption habits because I usually use Instagram and Twitter for the most part.

3. What I found interesting about the community that uses this selection is that a significant amount of older citizens (Baby Boomers) use this platform. 

4. I think that the individuals that use this platform are definitely interested in topics that are more newsy and mature than some other platforms. I think the fact that more older adults use Facebook plays a role in that notion.

5. I think that the media format is pretty similar in nature to sites such as Instagram and Twitter. There are still the basic pictures and captions. The subject matter and users have differences however. 

6. Yes, I have. The way that orgs/brands use Facebook is not very different from other social media sites that I am used to. Facebook utilizes promotions and brand pages like most others.