Thoughts on the Print-to-Web Media Transition

Pardon my temporary soapbox-climb, but I felt compelled to post about this today.

As a web writer – and someone who hasn’t read an actual print newspaper in years – I have a bit of apathy toward print.

However, with the “death of print” hullabaloo all around us like a flock of poisoned crows, I am worried about one thing.

The press, the print industry, the “news media” as it was known for centuries, had another name. The Fourth Estate. Named so by Thomas Carlyle in 1841 (he attributed it to Edmund Burke in 1792), it served as a check against corruption, against crime and against dilution of information.

My worry is this. If the Fourth Estate does die…what then becomes the check against these societal problems?

Right now I don’t think we have a counterpart on the Web. We have the collective blogosphere, and I’ll be the first to admit it’s powerful. But it’s not where it should be to replace the Fourth Estate – to become the Fifth Estate, essentially.

Why? Because the news media could be everywhere at once. TV, print and radio. Its power comes from its ability to activate public awareness even in the far corners of society.

An equal percentage of people get their news from TV (38%) or from the Web (39%). This 2008 Pew Research report tells us that newspaper readership has dropped to a third (34%). Assuming some overlap, print and TV still outpace the Web by a good chunk.

We’re not there yet. We could be soon; I think social media and more real-time advancements will help a lot in the coming years. (Some work hammering out content standards wouldn’t hurt either, but that’s the writer in me talking.)

I’m thrilled we have as many communications channels as we do. We’re in the midst of a huge transition because of them – better news, better marketing, better ways to connect. What we’ll need in the future is some standards for Fourth Estate-level solidarity. And plans for taking action when just talking online isn’t enough.

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