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The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII, pp 549-564, ISSN 2306-3920
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric
in the Context of Bangladesh
Mridha Md. Shiblee Noman
*
[Abstract : This study has tried to explore the perception of the news managers
working in media houses of Bangladesh on the future of print media in the
country. The study has taken Displacement Theory and Constancy Hypothesis
as its frameworks, and the author has conducted in-depth interviews of 10 news
managers from newspapers, television channels and online portals of
Bangladesh. This discussion has developed five broad themes regarding the
perception of news managers of the country on the future of print media:
diverse understanding towards an uncertain future; only corporate interest
matter; (arguably, print is) still a relevant medium; innovations and ideas
matter more than investment; and towards a solution: converge and evolve to
survive. The key findings of this study are: i) News managers perceive varied
forecast regarding the existence or extinction of print media in Bangladesh; ii)
Most of them see the printed newspapers as a necessary and relevant medium
so far; and iii) According to the news managers of the country, print media
houses should be convergent and must offer special and exclusive features to
their audiences in order to survive in the present age of online and digital
media.]
Key-words: newspaper in Bangladesh, print media, future of print, print vs. online
media, crisis of print media
Introduction
Journalism is experiencing significant changes over the world due to the emergence of
digital environment (technological innovations and digitization) and the internet, which
have created challenges for the press or print media (Casero-Ripollés & Izquierdo-
Castillo, 2013). Group of scholars have anticipated the end of print media because of a
digital revolution in newspaper industry as well (Fortunati et al., 2015). Accordingly, in
an Op-Ed published in May 2021, Molavi (2021) described print media, specially print
newspaper as a slowly dying sector. This perception of Molavi on the future of print
media is not only a perception, but he has tried to establish his argument with supporting
statistics, which states that print circulation is now in lowest in 80 years, circulations are
dropping across the world, and quoting from a writing of Ernest Hemingway, Molavi
(2021) speculates that this sector is declining gradually but would die suddenly. From the
latest data, Molavi (2021) also states that currently there is no newspaper in the United
States of America (USA) having circulation of one million copies.
*
Mridha Md. Shiblee Noman : Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Media
Studies, Jahangirnagar University.
The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII
550
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the circulation of print newspapers as well.
People started to avoid print newspapers considering it as a potential carrier of the virus
(Noab, 2020). In Bangladesh, just after the outbreak of the pandemic, Newspaper
Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) had to take initiatives to normalize the
panicked readers and hawkers to prevent the decline in the circulations of the print media.
Beside the pandemic issue, the most popular disposition about the decline of print
media is the rise of online media. But studies have shown that decrease in print
advertising does not confirm the rise in online advertisement. There are cases where
revenue generated from all kinds of news platforms have decreased as the circulation
decreased (Mitchell & Holcomb, 2016). And most importantly, in these cases and others,
digital subscription of online media as way of generating revenue could not play a
significant role (Mitchell & Holcomb, 2016).
It is clear that the online or digital business model of media has not become the only
way to survive with credibility, objectivity and popularity as print media so far.
Moreover, it is a debatable issue that whether print media will survive in coming future or
the online media will be the new and most probably the only platform of journalism. It is
important to consider that in many places print and online media have to develop a
symbiotic relationship to overcome the financial crisis of news industry and as a result of
this, online media is seen as complementary to print media.
Based on these mostly hypothetical situations as there is no obvious position seems
to be present, this study has tried to understand the perceptions of the news managers of
media outlets of Bangladesh about the future of print media in Bangladesh. This study
has investigated the thoughts and plans of the news managers from print newspapers,
television channels and online media outlets and has tried to sketch an overall scenario of
the media sector of the country about the confusion, uncertainty and possible paradigm
shift in present time and near future. In order to learn their positions, this paper looks for
answers to the following questions:
RQ 1 : Is there any kind of existential threat to print media of Bangladesh
because of the rise of online media?
RQ 2 : How do the news managers of Bangladesh foresee the future of print
media in Bangladesh?
RQ 3 : What are the ways being or should be used by the print media to
compete with the rise of online media?
Literature Review
Before exploring the perceptions of the news managers of various media houses of
Bangladesh, reviewing of literatures on two particular aspects can be helpful to
understand the relevance of this study in the present context. These aspects are the
confusing relationship between print and online media; and media displacement effect.
The Confusing Relationship Between Print and Online Media
After the emergence of online news media, there was a forecast of coexistence of print
media along with online news media (Nerone & Barnhurst, 2001), but controversies arise
over time among the stakeholders and academicians regarding the displacement of print
media due to the technological changes (Nossek et al., 2015).
Online media has changed the dimension of media industries “globally, nationally and
locally” and audience pattern of media has also gone through this transform (Skogerbø &
Winsvold, 2011: 214). Online media has become an important factor in various aspects of
many societies such as in its ‘social, economic, and cultural life’ (Mitchelstein &
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric in the Context of Bangladesh
551
Boczkowski, 2009: 562). Though young generation is moving towards online, studies
have pointed to the presence of such audience groups which are being risky for the local
newspapers to go online as these groups are not preferring online like youths (Skogerbø
& Winsvold, 2011).
In some countries, print and online media has formulated a symbiotic relationship
(Doudaki & Spyridou, 2013). Print media is still stronger there, and both print and online
media are showing a tendency to refashion themselves (Doudaki & Spyridou, 2013). The
symbiotic relationship between print and online media can be further seen in a study
where the findings state that print and online media are closely interconnected and have
various types of homogeneity (Boczkowski & Santos, 2007). Another content analysis of
news of print and online media reveals no significant differences among them and states
that readers of both medium are getting the same information (Ghersetti, 2014).
On the other hand, it seems that the position of readers regarding print and online
media has been a subject of confusion, as study shows that print version of a newspaper
has been preferred even by the internet users in some cases, at the time when print
readership was stronger (Chyi & Lasorsa, 2002). Further study shows that readers of
online newspapers consider print newspapers and television channels better suited for
their need of information; indicating towards a complementary relationship between print
and online media (Waal et al., 2005); and some has suggested this complementary
relationship as modest (Wurff et al., 2008). Another study states that print version of a
media has higher opening rate than its online version and readers of the print version have
higher rate of memory recalling and browsing engagement (Magee, 2013). Magee (2013)
also suggests not ceasing the publication of their media’s print version because of the
basis of only funding crisis. Moreover, Study suggests that there is not only one variable
influencing the reading habit of the readers, but it is actually a combination of many
variables, among which socializing variables seemed to be the strongest (Raeymaeckers,
2002).
Journalists of print and online media have shown differences about their
professional roles; print journalists implied significant importance on their investigative
and interpretive roles than online journalists; on the other hand, online journalists have
given emphasis on informing the public as soon as possible significantly more than the
print journalists (Cassidy, 2005).
Another popular position regarding the relationship of print and online media is that
print media has lost its revenue collected from advertisement due to the rise of online
media. Because online media has changed the behavior of both advertisers and audiences
of the media, and as a result print media had started to lost its revenue, though print media
was ongoing through other crisis at the same time as well (Casero-Ripollés & Izquierdo-
Castillo, 2013). It is true that newspaper industry, particularly print media has
experienced significant revenue decrease, but data shows that during 2005-2011, if online
revenue had increased one US dollar, the print revenues had decreased 22 US dollar in
cases (Sridhar & Sriram, 2015), meaning that online media had not got the amount of
advertisement which was lost by print media. However the same study concludes that the
overall growth in online advertisement would fasten the overall decrease in print
advertisement (Sridhar & Sriram, 2015). On the other hand, Price Waterhouse Coopers
(2009) stated that online advertisement globally grew 32.4% from 2003 to 2008 and its
largest increase was in the communication sector (cited in Casero-Ripollés & Izquierdo-
Castillo, 2013). But Sonnac (2009) and Chyi (2005) also stated that the increase in online
advertisement will not be enough for the funding needed in a newspaper business (cited
in Casero-Ripollés & Izquierdo-Castillo, 2013). Eventually because of the low
The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII
552
advertising revenue in online media, many newspapers have to impose access charge for
their readers in online platforms (Casero-Ripollés & Izquierdo-Castillo, 2013). And as a
result, Casero-Ripollés (2010) states, online media industry has started different business
models like free content, all paying content, metered model (free access to a certain
number of articles), freemium (combination of free content and paid content) and
donations (cited in Casero-Ripollés & Izquierdo-Castillo, 2013).
The impact of print and online media is another issue of debate. Generally it is
believed that print media can widen the contents which its audience is aware to, and
online media do the same thing in lesser extent (Schoenbach et al., 2005). But study has
shown that this is not the actual reality as both platforms actually contribute to uphold the
agenda of their audiences; the difference is online media show this to the most educated
group of the society and print media do it for the most average group of the society
(Schoenbach et al., 2005). Further study state that if readers have interest and belief in
newspapers, print newspapers are more effective than online newspapers (Waal &
Schoenbach, 2008). Another study has challenged the assumption that online media has
greater mobilizing content than print media stating online media do not carry mobilizing
information which is significantly higher than print media (Hoffman, 2006). Readers of
print and online media have different experiences when they took these media as objects
and they have emphasized on the bridging of print and digital media to overcome the
crisis of news media, the print news media in particular (Fortunati et al., 2015).
Media Displacement Effect
Whatever may be the relation between print and online media is, older media such as
newspaper, radio and television have been displaced by the increasing use of newer
technologies like internet and the rise of online newspapers or online media. Although
studies show conflicting results whether digital media will displace or complement older
media such as newspaper, books, radio and television (Twenge et al., 2019).
Study shows that use of internet or online has affected the time spent on reading
newspaper, viewing television, using telephone and family conversations (Kayany &
Yelsma, 2000). Online media has replaced television as the primary source of information
in some cases (Kayany & Yelsma, 2000). Rapid growth in the use of digital media has
been observed in studies and this adoption is displacing the use of older or legacy media,
this displacing trend has been found quite similarly among different gender, racial or
ethnic and socioeconomic status of people (Twenge et al., 2019).
Displacement is very much dependent on the habits of media users, comparative
advantages of different media and sociocultural contexts (Nimrod, 2019). Whereas the
study of Twenge et al. (2019) has focused on the media displacement by the young or
adolescent users, study of Nimrod (2019) has focused on the media displacement by the
older people of six different countries. Nimrod (2019) has found high media displacement
among the people aged 60 or more of these countries, and this displacement is high
regarding newspapers and magazines. Waal & Schoenbach (2010) have states that they
had found displacement effect visible among the adult users of media as well. They
argues that print newspaper is gradually being substituted by online newspapers; and
another thought provoking argument of their study is that online based newspaper sites
are being displaced by the non-paper news sites as well (Waal & Schoenbach, 2010),
which is indicating further displacement taking place within digital platforms.
It has been already said that media displacement by the rise of the online media is a
debated issue as there is a trend present seeing the online media as complementary to the
traditional newspapers, and the study of Vyas et al. (2007) is one of these kind. It argues
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric in the Context of Bangladesh
553
that rise of internet has not affected the newspaper business very much, but it has also
stated that online media is more popular regarding business, sports and international news
than traditional print media (Vyas et al., 2007). Advertising in online media has been
explained as complementary to other media as advertising sources as well, and it is
argued that it has not displaced most of the media as source of advertising information
(Tsao & Sibley, 2004).
Whatever may be the consequence - displacement or complementary relationship -
traditional media outlets have taken some steps to compete against the rise of online
media or to ensure the co-existence in both platforms. It is happening because of the
emergence of internet and later digital media, which have affected the availability of
news and information greatly and these have forced traditional media to reorganize
themselves (Vyas et al., 2007). Study of Mierzejewska et al. (2017) has focused on two
strategies of traditional media; first, launching of online versions by the traditional media
outlets and second, efforts of print newspapers to cover greater areas with special
sections.
Theoretical Framework
This study has taken media displacement effect into consideration as quite an absolute
consequence of the rise of internet use and emergence of digital media over print and
other legacy media. From the technological aspect, this study has taken the Displacement
Theory as one of its theoretical frameworks, which was developed by Maxwell McCombs
(Anis & Fahad, 2020). The basic idea of this theory is that people have limited time to
spend on a particular thing (Omachonu & Akanya, 2019).
McCombs argued that if people give more time to one medium, then they will have
to spend less time on other media (Anis & Fahad, 2020). There are debates about the
impacts of displacement effect on existing medium and at least three schools of thoughts
have been developed around it; they have emphasized on three different relationships
between older and newer media as the impact of displacement effect; they are
asymmetrical relationship (increase-decrease relationship), complementary relationship
(increase-increase relationship) and functional displacement (Anis & Fahad, 2020). Lee
& Leung (2008) argues about two new approaches of displacement effect; they are
medium centric approach where people spend more time on one media and less on others;
and user centric approach which emphasizes on the needs and gratification of the users
(cited in Anis & Fahad, 2020).
Displacement Theory mostly depends on the aspects of newer and older media,
which is basically about the technological advancement and gratification of the users. But
as this study has tried to find out the future of the print media in Bangladesh, it has also
focused on the economic issues of mass media as well. And for this reason, this study has
also taken the Constancy Hypothesis as one of its conceptual frameworks as well. The
Constancy Hypothesis was proposed by Charles E. Scripps, where he argued that despite
various technological and other changes, economic support in the field of mass media is
relatively constant and very much related to the general economy (McCombs, 1972).
According to this hypothesis, a constant amount of wealth is devoted to mass media
according to the notion of general economy; when economy is rising, there will be more
flow of capital in mass media and vice versa (McCombs, 1972). And because of this
constant situation, when one particular medium arises, other media has to decline, and it
reflects a major economic constraint which is stopping the growth of media industry
(McCombs, 1972). A very important position of this hypothesis is that it has emphasized
on the ups and downs of general economy to describe the rise and decline of newer and
The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII
554
older media and has given less importance on the competition within media and
technological changes (McCombs, 1972).
Methodology
This study has taken in-depth interview as its methodology. Research interview is
considered as one of the most used data collecting strategies (Bryman, 2012). Wimmer &
Dominick (2011) has stated in-depth interview or intensive interview as a hybrid of one-
to-one interview technique. In this methodology the sample size generally remains
smaller, the interviews are generally long, and the success of this technique as a data
collection method largely depends on the rapport building of the interviewer with the
interviewees (Wimmer & Dominick, 2011).
For this study, semi-structured interview technique has been used. In this kind of
interview the interviewer may have a set of questions to be asked to the interviewees, but
the chronology of the questions is not followed strictly and interviewer can ask further or
follow-up questions if necessary to be more clear about the related topic (Bryman, 2012).
This study has purposefully taken news managers from different media houses as its
sample, who have a career in journalism for at least 10 years. So, purposive sampling has
been taken initially as its sampling technique, which is also known as qualified volunteer
sampling where the sampling is done using a sampling frame indicating who can
participate as a sample and who cannot (Wimmer & Dominick, 2011). In most of the
cases, respondents of this type of sampling participate in the process voluntarily
(Wimmer & Dominick, 2011).
From the news managers of the media outlets of the country, 10 news managers
have been taken as the respondents of this study using available sampling technique.
Available or convenience sample is a sampling technique where respondents are taken on
the basis of their availability (Wimmer & Dominick, 2011). After the purposive sampling
of the news managers with experience in journalism for certain number of years, in-depth
interviews of these experienced journalists have been taken based on their availability,
where mean age of the respondents were 45.8 years with standard deviation of 7.11 years.
Nine of the respondents were male and one of them was female. News managers from
four national print dailies (two Bengali and two English), three television channels and
three online portals have been interviewed in the study. The national dailies are Daily
Prothom Alo, Daily Samakal, The Daily Star and The Business Standard; television
channels are DBC News, Independent Television and Channel I; and the online portals
are BDNews24.com, Newsbangla24.com and Banglatribune.com.
Data Analysis and Findings
The findings of the study have been presented under five thematic areas, which are -
diverse understanding towards an uncertain future (RQ 1); only corporate interest matter
(RQ 1); (arguably, print is) still a relevant medium (RQ 2); innovations and ideas matter
than investment (RQ 2); and towards a solution: converge and evolve to survive (RQ 3).
In order to develop these themes, the basic categorization technique has been used where
“the researcher looks for how various themes are similar, how they are different, and
what kinds of relationships may exist between them” (Gibson and Brown, 2009: 128-129,
cited in Saldana, 2016: 202).
Diverse understanding towards an uncertain future
As the rise of online and digital media, traditional print media houses of Bangladesh have
experienced a new situation over the media ecology and environment. But the
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric in the Context of Bangladesh
555
respondents of this study have expressed diverse understanding regarding the future of
print media in Bangladesh due to this new phenomenon. Three major paths of thinking
have been identified from the respondents.
First, a group of respondents think that there is no threat for print media in
Bangladesh due to the rise of online media. These respondents have focused on the
credibility issue of print media and mentioned the presence of a huge untouched market
and readers of print media over the country. According to them if this untouched market
and readers can be utilized, there are good prospect for the print media of Bangladesh in
near future. One of the respondents also referred the rise of online media as not a threat,
but a new window for the media sector of the country.
Second, another group of news managers believe that there is something happening
in the print media sector due to the rise of online media. But they have named it in
various ways like threat, challenge, displacement etc. News managers of this group
repeatedly mentioned that challenge is not a new thing for print media. Challenges
occurred previously because of the expansion of radio and television as well. A deputy
executive editor of a national daily have said,
‘Newsprint will die’— this rhetoric has been going around for 25-30 years. But
people who read hardcopy (printed newspapers) are still reading it.
News managers of similar thinking believe that print media will survive for 10 to 25 years
more in Bangladesh without any question. They have also mentioned that circulation of
the newspapers was dropping slowly, or at least cumulative circulation was not
increasing, but after the hit of COVID-19 pandemic, circulation of print newspapers has
dropped drastically. And there are different perceptions among these news managers
whether or not the lost circulation will be regained. A news manager of a online news
portal thinks that readers will back to print media because of health concerns of using
devices continuously. The same respondent also states that, advertisers still prefer print
media over online while giving advertisement, which has been a huge advantage for the
print media so far.
Third, a respondent of the study who is a consultant in an online news portal
strongly believe that there will be no print newspaper in Bangladesh in 2035. He has also
mentioned that, the cumulative reader of news is increasing in the country, but print is
losing its readers for the online media. He believes that print newspaper’s production and
distribution method is an outdated culture and because of the expansion of Wi-Fi
technology, more readers are preferring online media. While expressing his perception,
he said, If there are five reasons for print losing their readers, the number one would be
online readership. If we draw a percentage here, 80% of the responsibility has
to be the online news media.
One of the major aspects of the loss of readership of print media in Bangladesh has been
identified as the shift of preferences of the readers and younger generations from print to
devices, which has been mentioned as a displacement in effect as well. And most of the
respondents have shared a common perception that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this
displacement became so fast than normal situation, which has seriously affected the
readership of print newspapers of the country.
Only corporate interest matter
Most of the respondents of the study have identified a changed situation in the print
media sector of Bangladesh. And the most ambitious of them are not seeing the
The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII
556
possibilities of presence of print newspapers 30 years from now. But new print
newspapers have been starting their operations in Bangladesh frequently. Respondents
were asked the cause behind it and almost all of them have responded the same, though
they have seen quite uncomfortable addressing the issue. As the essence of that, one of
them said,
This is a very complex matter to discuss. You have to see who are the owners
of these new newspapers. If we consider print media as a business, who owns
these businesses? You will find the industrial giants of Bangladesh among
them.
Respondents have said unanimously that the private media sector of the country is totally
under control of corporate groups and these groups are coming forward with new
ventures of (print) media outlets for their absolute corporate interest. Behind this ventures
of the corporate groups, journalistic principles are not any kind of concern at all and the
respondents also think that these outlets are in operation to protect and backing up the
owner, actually being used as a shield for their other business interest.
Respondents have also mentioned that these new print newspapers may not be
financially profitable projects, but these can be profitable politically or otherwise for
owners’ side. Another prime reason for coming up with new print media outlets,
according to the respondents, is to tackle the business opponents and influence others.
When asked why these corporate groups are coming up not with online media,
respondents have expressed different perceptions. While one of them mentioned it as a
possible Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity, most of them have focused on
the authenticity of print media in the mind of the readers, the status symbol of the
ownership of a print media in the society, and convenience of getting lease and loan for
the print media. Some of the respondents have also mentioned the lack of market and
audience research before the starting of operations of these media outlets as a cause of
coming up with print rather than online or digital.
(Arguably, print is) still a relevant medium
Almost all print media houses of Bangladesh have already started their online operations
as they are quite convinced that it is extremely hard to reach all the potential readers
using the medium of print only. But respondents of the study have shed light on two
aspects as well. First, according to their perception, print media may not survive after 25
to 30 years maximum in the country; Second, young generation is preferring digital
devices more than reading any texts in print. On this note, while respondents have been
asked whether or not the print media is a relevant medium now, almost all of them have
answered affirmative. They have said print media will always be necessary and relevant
for various causes.
These respondents think that the description in detail style of print and the impact of
print media over the readers make it still relevant. Further, reading newspapers is a
regular habit for many readers. According to them, news readers believe the content of
the newspaper more than any other news media, which according to them, is another
cause of the relevance of print media. A respondent believes that the print media will be
relevant in the country until the education and other sectors as well as the advertisers and
investors will not be fully digitized.
A fraction of the respondent from similar thoughts have stated that, print newspaper
can be considered as proof of something and can be used as document, which makes it
still relevant. They have also argued that the absence of any kind of guaranty of online
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric in the Context of Bangladesh
557
media because of its fragile electronic storage system and its security concern, print is
still very much a relevant medium. A senior news editor of a television channel has
ambitiously stated,
When television was becoming popular, radio was treated as a backdated
medium, but radio came back with FM technology. Previously, it was at the
houses, and now it is in the cars and phones. So, print may come back as a new
style as well.
On the contrary, a respondent has stated that there is no relevance of print media
right now as print media is unable to cope up with the developing news because of
online based media. This respondent has also stated that providing news is the matter for
media, not the medium it is using. This respondent, who is a consultant at an online
news portal, has also reminded that online media has extinct many intermediary media
services in recent past, which also indicates the irrelevance of the print media according
to him. Stating that print media is not relevant form the point of view of the readers,
he said, In the last 10 years, the biggest incident in the country was the Holey Artisan
incident. The incident ended by the early morning, but newspapers had to go to
press by 2 AM. So, the people who read newspapers the next day did not have
the story of how it ended. So, what role do newspapers play in delivering the
news to the people? Audiences did have the updated news through television
and online.
Innovations and ideas matter more than investment
As most of the news managers of various media outlets of Bangladesh are feeling a threat
or challenge for print media because of the rise of online media, and at the same time
considering the print media as relevant, respondents of current study have been asked if
the financial base of the print media outlets become stronger, will it be helpful for lasting
the print media longer than their perception or not. From the responses of them, again
differentiated paths can be identified.
A deputy news editor of an online news portal has said investment will be a huge
influence and investment is needed for the better development and digitization of the
whole process of print media. In contrast, another news manager from an online news
portal has stated that only ideas matter for print media rather than financial investments.
And a chief news editor of a television channel has stated that the owners of the media
outlets actually do not care about the future or quality of print media, so, according to him
this is an irrelevant aspect. According to him,
The investors worry about keeping their ventures secure, about having the
political and media backup in favor of them. So, they do not care about
whether the journalism industry is developing or not. Initially, it seems that
there will be many investments, but eventually those changes.
But most of the respondents have focused on quality content along with financial
investments. They have emphasized on knowing the choices and expectations of the
readers, reducing the number of pages of newspapers, prior market and audience research
for investing in profitable areas, promoting interactive and citizen journalism etc. Though
they have considered both the quality improvement and financial investment necessary
for the survival of print media in Bangladesh, most of their concern has been seen in
quality development of contents rather than financial issues. They have suggested to
look for diverse content and to think on new ideas and innovations as audiences have
The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII
558
become competitor of media now a days. For improved ideas and innovations, a news
manager has considered leadership and skilled manpower as primary concerns. According
to him, If you think about the BBC or the News York Times, we do not even dare to
dream that some newspaper from Bangladesh will dominate the Asian or the
South-Asian region, let alone global. Our crisis is not money; our primary
crisis is leadership.
The same news manager, who is a deputy executive editor of a national daily, has called
for a renovation of journalism academia as well. He stated,
I also studied in the department of Journalism. All we had was bookish
knowledge, with bare minimum practical…the productions from the
departments of Journalism are not satisfactory.
But, one of the respondents has repeatedly said that according to him, there is actually no
need for print media at this time. Better ideas can help it to survive for few years more,
but in that case, eventually there will be no readers for the print. He argues,
Do we look for any word in the dictionary now? So, when there is no need,
why will the newspaper get printed?
Towards a solution: Converge and evolve to survive
Respondents have been asked to express their thinking on possible solutions of this
ongoing unstable situation in the print media sector of Bangladesh. The solution they
have emphasized most is that authority of the print media houses will have to embrace the
changed situation and they will have to evolve with time and technologies. One of the
respondents has suggested that print media houses must incorporate updated servers and
applications related to print. A deputy executive editor of a national daily has suggested
that media houses of the country will have to consider themselves as content producers, a
news manager of an online portal has said almost the same using the term as news
publishers instead of content producers. On the same notion, an assistant editor of a
national daily argues that, in this situation text of the news will remain same, but the
medium may change.
Respondents of the study have focused on various aspects for having a solution of
this crisis period of the print media houses of Bangladesh. Some of them have suggested
that print media should focus on collecting advertisement and more digitization, and
increase the price of the newspaper and start paywall in their online versions.
But most of the respondents have emphasized on the quality of the content as prime
concern. According to them, quality of the content must be ensured with credibility and
insightfulness. They have also asked print for presentable, authentic and in-depth special
contents along with human interest stories and long articles.
On the question of the contents of print media, a senior news editor of a television
channel has said,
It cannot go both ways. They either have to increase pages, publish post
editorials of prominent figures, expert writers on their pool and engage the
intellectual audience. On the contrary, to get a popular audience, they will have
to reduce pages and add popular content.
While addressing the same issue, a consultant of an online portal has given importance on
the content preferences of audiences with seeking a change in the newspaper delivery
method and describing the improvement of circulation as a prime concern. He stated,
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric in the Context of Bangladesh
559
News managers…have to make news related to people and their lives if they
want to increase circulation or readership. But if that is not the primary
target…they do not have to consider what the audiences want.
A respondent, who is working as a chief news editor of a television channel, has
suggested that print media should control their thirst for hits, reactions and comments in
their online operations and must not compromise with the ethics of journalistic practices.
Moreover, a senior news editor of another television channel has come with the
suggestion of introducing new ventures along with print media business. According to
him, it has been difficult to survive with only one business. This news manager has
mentioned the business model of Daily Prothom Alo, a national daily of the country who
are running a publication house along with the daily newspaper and recently launched an
Over the Top (OTT) platform.
A news manager has suggested to focus on regional newspapers and regional
contents to catch the attention of new readers. On this note, a good number of respondents
have referred the model of Ajker Patrika, a national daily started its operation in June,
2021, whose motto is ‘Country’s Local Newspaper’ as it is publishing the highest number
of regional editions.
When asked the same question in a comparatively micro level, means what
measures have been taken by the media houses of each of the news managers, more
concrete answers have been received. These answers can be divided into three major
areas.
First, the news managers working at newspaper or print media have mentioned that
they are operating integrated newsrooms with strong online sections, emphasizing on fast
news and fast analysis, more digitization and more investment on digitization. Two of
them have mentioned that they have turned their houses as a news portal or platform
rather than only a print media house. They are doing it by publishing multimedia content
and operating YouTube channels; infographics, data journalism and specialized contents
for print versions; and most importantly they are constantly trying to provide something
new for the print version of their media outlets for the next day.
Second, news manager who are working at television channels seem to have more
vulnerable situation than print. A chief news editor has said that his house has not taken
any steps regarding the rise of online media. He thinks that the higher authority of his
house has not felt any kind of threat yet. Another news manager of a television channel
has stated that his house is sacking experienced journalists to reduce their cost as
experienced employees are highly paid. As a result, this house is lacking expertise which
is deepening the crisis further. Only one of the news managers of a television channel has
expressed an initiative of his channel to cope up with the rise of online media. This
particular television channel is uploading long video contents in their YouTube channel
and broadcasting a shortened version of those contents in their television channel to
engage its audiences both in television broadcasting and online operations.
Third, most of the news managers from online portals have mentioned that their
houses are using every kind of technologies which are useful for gathering and
disseminating news. As a part of this, they are being totally digitized by having
interconnected servers and being familiar with newer technologies and apps. They are
also making their in-house journalists trained up in mobile and online journalism. And for
now, they are also using social networking sites as a circulating tool of their contents. But
on the contrary, a news manager of an online portal has also stated that, he thinks his
house is failing to cope up with the new situation than the newcomers on the media sector
The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C, Vol. XXXII
560
of the country. At this point, it should be mentioned that, his portal is one of the oldest
online portals of Bangladesh which came into operations in the first decade of current
century.
Discussion and Conclusion
This study has investigated the ongoing unsettled situation of print media of Bangladesh
because of the emergence of online, digital and internet-based media, and its possible
consequences according to the news managers of various media houses of the country
including national dailies (print newspapers), television channels and online portals.
Acquired data of the study can be summarized under three major aspects.
First, news managers of different media houses of the country are perceiving varied
forecast regarding the existence or extinction of print media in Bangladesh. Where some
of them are not seeing the rise of online media as any kind of threat for print media, some
news managers have identified the situation as a huge challenge or threat for the print
media. Later group has indicated towards a kind of displacement which is happening
within the news consumers of the country due to the rise of internet-based news media,
which resembles the findings of Twenge et al. (2019).
Most of the respondents have agreed that there was a steadiness present in the
growth of cumulative circulation of the print newspaper in Bangladesh for a time being.
But after the hit of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, circulation of print media had
fallen drastically. During the primary time of the pandemic, people along with young
generation had taken internet-based media as their prime source of entertainment and
information as well. As a result, a huge number of people are now considering device-
based news consumption rather than reading traditional printed newspapers. This
perception of the news managers of the country is supported by the rapid growth of the
internet users in Bangladesh during the first month of COVID-19 outbreak in the country,
where the cumulative internet users in the country were increased 7.38% from February
2020 to March 2020 (Islam, 2020).
Second, whatever are the perceptions of the news managers regarding the future of
the print media in Bangladesh, most of them still see the print as a necessary and relevant
medium so far. Though, according to their response, there is very little to be ambitious
about the new print media outlets of the country, they are still finding it convenient to
consider the print as a much authentic medium than any other media, with the print
having extra points for its documentation value and secure storage system than digital or
electronic storage of online media contents. But this position of the news managers seems
to be partially right because it is true that any kinds of disruption or hacking can
permanently damage the digital storage of online media contents; but on the other hand, it
is also true that the physical storage of the print media contents can be preserved with
more security online as it will be free from any kind of earthy risks like damages due to
fire, water or any kind of physical entropy in those cases.
Though the news managers of the country are believing in the relevance of
print media so far, their concern regarding the new corporate owned print media is a
sector to put emphasis on, as not only new print media houses but most of the media
houses are operating in various corporate controlled condition. Riaz and Rahman
(2021) has stated that many media outlets of Bangladesh are controlled by the members
of same family, media houses are affiliated with political identity and they are mostly
owned by big business or corporate groups with various business interest. And the
owners of media outlets are using their ownership to safeguard their business interest and
to criticize their rival groups (Riaz & Rahman, 2021). On this note, new operations
Print Newspapers will Die – Examining the Rhetoric in the Context of Bangladesh
561
of print media outlets in the country may not be seemed as development of print
media sector.
Third, according to the news managers of the country, print media houses will have
to be convergent and must offer special and exclusive features to their audiences in order
to survive in the present age of online and digital media. Along with this statement, it
seems from the responses of the interviewees that television channels are in more
vulnerable situation than print media in Bangladesh because of the rise of online media
and OTT platforms. Most of them are not having proper plan of action and activities to
combat the situation like print media are doing, and they are choosing the way of cost
reduction by sacking experienced journalists of their houses. So, the suggestions of the
news managers for the print media to be convergent and offer special and exclusive
features to its readers should be applicable for the television channel or for the broadcast
media sector of the country as well.
To conclude, it is a convincing fact that the overall media sector of Bangladesh
is passing through a confusing situation as audiences are shifting their preferences
due to displacement effect, and traditional print media houses of the country as
well as television channels are being bound to launch their online operations. On
this note, it is recommended that the media houses of the country should and must
realize this reality and should put more emphasis on their online operation planning.
And if they want their print version to last long, they must have different plan of
action, quality content and professionalism along with convergent journalism for the
print which will catch the attraction of the readers in this era of very fast online
journalism.
Limitations of the Study
Because of the lack of adequate fund and time, present author could not take a bigger
sample for interviewing in-depth and explore the issue more thoroughly, which could
have made its findings and conclusion more generalizable. Another limitation of the study
is that, it has interviewed three news managers from different television channels as
representatives from broadcast media sector of the country, but has not interviewed any
news manager working at radio stations. Moreover, this study has not investigated the
position of the owners and top editorial bodies of the media outlets, which can be
arguably stated as another limitation of the study, though it was not the primary focus of
this study. However, if it was done, it could have been reflected the situation more
vigorously.
Funding Information
This study was funded by Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh in the session 2021-22.
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