Media industries: Assignment

Books and Magazines Critique

By

Sijjal Tajwar

BS MC 2018

Instructor: Ms Tashin Fatima

March 9, 2021
 There was a time when my dad used to read newspapers early in the morning, that

habit of his still prevails today of reading news but not from a newspaper rather from a

tablet. This personal observation of mine is actually the evolution, the world has gone

through. In the digital world of today technology is at its peak. This is a time of seeking after

simple access and comfort. Including all aspects of our life it is affecting, literature is one

too. And when talking about books and magazines the effect took place quite differently.

Rather than saying that this medium is dying I would say that it has transitioned into a new

form which are the electronic books and magazines.

Foremost is the convenience that these electronic mediums give the user. Considering

Kindle, which is an e-reader sold by Amazon, it provides many benefits which a paper book

could never give such as the user can buy the book anywhere anytime and easily access it,

even a dictionary function is available, changing the text size, layout add typeface is not

difficult and also you can read it in the dark [ CITATION Shi20 \l 1033 ]. In 2013, Merkoski, who

also played a part in manufacturing Kindle, commented that the device marks shift of an era

of paper reading to an era of e-books[ CITATION Mer13 \l 1033 ] .

Second is the accessibility factor. Where one can only go to the market to buy at most ten

books or less, with Internet you can have access to millions of books and most of them are

even free. Take the example off Google library where, Google in collaboration with other

libraries stores digital copy of books and users can easily access it.

Considering magazines on the other hand, sponsorship is one major thing that they rely on

for revenue generation which in today's world is more effectively done through social

media. As the presence of users is more on the digital mediums so as to sort their client out,

sponsors have also shifted do these medias.

Remez Sasson, the writer has talked about how e-books are very practical. He says “You can

purchase, download and read e-books within minutes all without leaving your chair,” he

further explains that “E-books also don’t take up much space. You don’t need a room or

library for them. You can easily store hundreds of books on a single, technological device.”

However, to this, Dr. Matthew H. Schneps presents a counter argument that between hard

and soft copy of paper books and magazines what to pick depends upon the individual’s

preference. He says “First and foremost, consider the person and their lifelong preferences,

some people absolutely love the look, smell and feel of the classical book held in the hand.

Such people may not want to give up the sensory experience of reading from a paper

book.” 

Even though hard copy has its own charm but to me I think in the digital era print books and

magazines we'll see a decline but that may not be the same case with the reading habits of

people. It is just the medium that will change.

References
Merkoski, J. 2013. Burning the page: The eBook revolution and the future of reading.

Shibata, H, and K Omura. 2020. Reading and Writing in the Digital Age. Singapore.