Fate of print media

It is no secret that newspapers, including ours in Jordan, are slowly but surely fading away, with some pundits predicting their eventual extinction if no meaningful measures are adopted to turn the tide.

Because of the Internet and social media, fewer and fewer people are buying and reading newspapers.

In Jordan’s case, this trend can still be slowed, or even reversed, if newspapers can get their act together and start competing with the new technological developments.

The trouble with Jordanian dailies is that they do not print much that can be competitive or newsworthy.  Most Jordanian dailies print matters of little interest and hardly have any investigative reporting that social media cannot compete with.

What is printed on page one and makes headlines is normally superficial, ceremonial or “protocolish”, of little or no interest to readers.

People are interested in reading news items and reports that cannot be found elsewhere.

More investigative reporting on issues of interest to people could slow down the demise of newspapers. 

Newspapers should research and see what counts most to potential readers before they fill their pages with “news” that is not newsworthy.

Jordanian dailies have too many columnists, some writing daily columns.

I believe newspapers can turn the corner if they invest more in quality reporting.

People tend to rely on the Internet and social media these days.

The battle for the survival of newspapers is not lost yet.

A professional treatment of the reasons newspapers are on the decline is therefore needed.

Perhaps remedies will be costly, but in the medium and long run they alone breathe new life into print journalism.