Rise of the Mobile Newspaper
With the rise of mobile technologies, more people are using their cell phones like never before. After all, there are tens of thousands of apps just for the iPhone alone, and mobile commerce is seeing increased traction. Just take the Sears mobile Web site as an example: a team leader said the company sold a $3,000 lawnmower on a mobile device.
In fact, an eMarketer report indicates that 80% of respondents in a smartphone usage study said they use their mobile device to access the Internet — making it the No. 1 smartphone content activity, more than camera and e-mail. So with mobile devices making it easier to shop, easier to engage in social networks and download an app for just about anything, how are mobile devices changing the role of the traditional print newspaper?
There’s a lot of research out there that tries to gauge just how consumers are using it to access news.
For example, CellSigns, a company that says it has been “tracking mobile usage of newspapers and publishers since 2006,” indicates a surge in consumer demand for “ease of access.” Market researcher comScore also reports that the number of people using mobile devices to access news and information in the U.S. more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009 (a 107% year-over-year change). Compared to other activities for mobile device access, however, the comScore numbers show that accessing news isn’t growing as much as the other categories: visited a social networking site or blog (427%); traded stocks or accessed a financial account (188%); accessed movie information (185%); accessed business directories (161%); accessed entertainment news (160%).
While accessing the Internet on your mobile phone to read the news may not seem revoluntary, it’s certainly changing the newspaper industry. A newspaper without an online version is hard to come by these days (and many print newspapers are being replaced by only its online version). Given the shift from print to digital, it’s a logical step for the computer-accessed news to be replaced by the mobile newspaper. Right now most newspapers do have a mobile-optimized Web site, and accessing it on a phone is easy — and free.
So do you use your phone to access news? Is it a replacement to the print newspaper, or other news sources?
Lauren is a Senior Account Executive at Walker Sands Communications. She has a background in both tech PR and print journalism, giving her valuable insight into what a client desires, and what a journalist most appreciates.
I’ve been reading news on my mobile since 2003. As the mobile platforms have evolved and news content websites have embraced mobile, it has become easier and easier to find and read news on a mobile device.
Have you found that you’re reading print newspapers less frequently, or not tuning in to watch your local news broadcast because you’ve already read up on the news via your phone?
I’ve canceled my subscriptions to print newspapers (Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal). I get the vast majority of my news online. 50% from mobile web, 40% from desktop web, 10% from local/network broadcast.
I can consume news when and where I want with mobile. That’s the biggest factor. But I’d have to say that the evening or 10:00 PM broadcast news often seems stale when I watch it.
With all of these advancements in technology becoming the “death of print news,” I think mobile devices and social media may be eliminating a lot of traditional media.
I agree with John, when I watch the evening news it’s boring because I’ve seen and heard everything already. Even 24 hour news stations have less value to me because I can find things faster on Twitter. Point in case, the results of the Chicago Olympic bid were published all over Twitter before any newspaper, magazine or TV station had a chance to say or do anything.
Traditional media is just simply not fast enough anymore.
Content is going to be key in the survival of print news. I agree with you that in getting the basic facts online and social media trumps the nightly news. But I really like what Newsweek has done in making a decision to shift away from basic fact reporting and spend more time breaking down and analyzing the story behind the story. They are doing actual reporting and presenting content that I can’t get anywhere else. It’s one of the reasons I still watch shows like 60 Minutes.
I bought my first sunday newspaper in my entire life. It was to provide packing material inside a box for a gift to my niece.
I love the New York Times iPhone app. And Google Reader both on iPhone and the web version for other feeds.
I have no paper newspapers anymore, and my bills arrive electronically as well.What a great way to save paper and the environment