Elaph readers: The electronic press is the source of our news

81% of Elaph readers said that they get their news from social media and online news sites, while 12% get their news from television and 7% from newspapers.

Elaph - Rania Al-Akhdar: It is no longer a secret to anyone that the balance of the media is in the interest of the electronic press, until it has reached a stage that threatens the paper newspapers from the Maghreb to the east. In addition, many analysts believe that newspapers are in the stage of clinical death. Which media do they rely on? In its weekly poll, Elaph asked its readers: “Where do you follow the daily news through any media outlet?” The answers came to outweigh the electronic media as follows: 69% get their news from the electronic press, and 12% of the readers get their news from social media, 12 percent from television, and 7 percent from the paper press. If these results indicate anything, they indicate that social networking sites are still below the level of “news media” for the reader, but rather remain a platform for social communication and political discussion sessions and others, despite By providing news channels, while television has become an entertainment window that entertains and attracts the viewer through competition programs, reality television, musical matches, sports, and others.The most popular means of news is the electronic press, as it is at the forefront of the media intended for the recipient. The event turns into breaking news, which is quickly transmitted by electronic news sites, to the point that it is touching our smart screens without permission or any attempt to search for it, and this is a reality that threatens paper news and its future.

Delivering the news There have been numerous studies in recent years regarding the brightness of the electronic press and its impact on the paper press. Opinions varied on the importance of the two means of communicating the news. One group believes that the technical development of the means of communication and media will be the reason for the disappearance of paper newspapers in the future. Another group believes that paper newspapers will witness a great future development, which makes them a media medium that plays a major role in various areas of life, despite the great development witnessed by the electronic press in terms of form and content. Previous studies have shown that the number of followers of electronic newspapers is constantly increasing. A recent report issued by the Pew Research Center on the challenges and future of print and electronic journalism shows that more Americans are turning to the Internet for news, in return for a decrease in the number of print and print newspaper readers.

Smart RevolutionThe glossary of looking at the boom of smart devices and their impact on the role of electronic newspapers confirms that the smart revolution contributed to activating the role of electronic newspapers and facilitated browsing. The temporal or geographical factor is an obstacle to accessing information. In addition, the news feature includes a video clip, which makes its coverage of interest and a feature that is not available in the written media, as well as the interaction of the direct reader with the news. thousand copies), and its electronic version is sufficient (its visitors exceed one million readers). As for the French "Le Monde", it has reached the brink of bankruptcy (its debt reached 150 million euros last year), while its electronic version is achieving continuous success among the French-speaking peoples. Paper copy for 1.2 million daily visitors accessing its electronic version. We mention here the prestigious newspaper "Al-Safir" in Lebanon, which stopped publishing due to financial difficulties, and other paper newspapers that are in financial crises that have burdened them, including the ancient Lebanese "An-Nahar".

Why buy the newspaper Undoubtedly, the economic factor plays its role in the reader's reluctance to buy paper newspapers, at a time when he can browse the news almost for free and at any time he wants, from anywhere on the screen of his smartphone. In turn, an American study found that about half of the readers buy The newspaper is to read local news in their city, 21% buy it because of the coupons distributed with it to get a discount when buying goods from the shops advertised in that newspaper, and 14 percent want to read national or international news, 7% because of habit, and 3% to know about deaths, And 2 in the menu only for reading columns and comments. As for the remaining 7 percent, it is due to other miscellaneous causes. But another study found that print journalism suffers from a lack of advertising and income, a decline in distribution and sales, and a rise in costs, which makes its future picture somewhat blurry.