Unit- 2.

2 PRINT MEDIA

Print Media traditionally the term refers to ‘the distribution of printed works. It includes
newspaper, magazines, booklets, barouches, house magazine, periodicals or
newsletters, direct mailers, handbills or flyers, billboard, press releases, books etc.’

The different types of print media content, varies according to the targeted audience
or market. Content in newspapers slightly differ to that in magazines, tabloids and
newsletters. These mediums serve the purpose of showcasing advertisements, news
or entertainment related information to audiences. Newspapers are a worldwide
medium that have been around since long now. With the industrial revolution,
newspapers were made possible to print and were used as a means of communicating
in the year 1814, which kick started journalism.

Characteristics and Role of Print Media

1. Print media are characterised as powerful sources of bringing about attitudinal

change and motivating people for action.
Newspapers provide place for debate. For example, the topics like political
participation of women and civic affairs, discussed in series of articles in Times
of India provided a very effective platform to debate on these topics, by the
people from a cross section of the society. These national debates in
newspapers analyse and mould the culture and influence the government
Newspapers have been the leading print medium ever since Johann Gutenberg
started his press in mid-fifteenth century.
2. Print media such as newspapers, magazines, journals etc. also play a role of
watchdog and present a true picture of the events to the people many times.
3. Print media play an important role in connecting and adequately informing
people about the events and developing understanding of the social realities
especially in a society consisting of different ethnic, linguistic and religious
communities.
4. Newspapers as mass media today do not just observe and report but ask,
pursue, investigate, doubt and demand.
5. Newspapers and magazines offer wider variety of reading material and
viewpoints of many people and thus provide better comprehension of the affairs
and issues.

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 6. Print media provide space for expression of their views and grievances in
reader's columns. Thus providing for feedback component of effective
communication process. This generates debates on various social and other
issues.

Advantages of print media

 Print media is an easy medium to spread awareness or advertise to any

particular geographical area. Like, a local newspaper is the best way to spread
the news about any local event of the place.

 Print media can serve the purpose of future reference and research work by
systematic documentation.

 Some forms of the print media have huge and trusted followers. This is
definitely a great boost to attract readership.

 Print media allows individual to choose personal space for advertisement, thus,
one manage the budget and expenses while planning for the advertisement.

 Flashy magazines are always popular among consumers and are often read by
them for a particular period of time in a month. The monthly magazines are the
best way to bring attention to any advertisements. Similarly, out-door and in-
door display of hoardings, banners, bulletins etc. catch the attention of people
especially turned them to potential customers.

Disadvantages of print media

 It is limited by the geographical boundaries in case of global audience. Instead,

the internet has a much wider reach than print media in this.

 Placing an advertisement in print media requires a lot of planning and time. For
example, particularly when the work has to be completed in tight deadlines and
there is no scope of flexibility.

 Many limitations are related to targeting the readers as the particular

newspaper may not be available to the readers all the time. On the other hand,
a person can get access to the internet from anywhere and everywhere.

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  Besides, most of the time, advertisement might get lost among all other ads
and editorials.

 The lifespan of newspaper and magazines is very short as people have a

tendency to throw them or keep them aside after one day of reading.

There are both advantages and limtations for print media. We have to keep all
these in mind and make the right planning to make the optimum use of print media.

Now let us understand each type under this section.

1. Newspapers

Newspapers are the most popular forms of print media. New refers to ‘NEWS-North,
East, West and South’. They have varieties ranging from a daily newspaper to a
weekly tabloid. Different types of newspaper cater to various audiences and one can
select the particular category accordingly.

According to the World Association of Newspapers, the first newspaper in the modern
sense was published by Johann Carlous in 1605. In India, Bengal Gazette was the
first English newspaper published from Kolkata (then Calcutta), in 1780 by James
Augustus Hicky. The first Hindi language newspaper was Udant Martand (Udant="
News/TIdings" ,Martand="Sun") published in India 1826, from Calcutta (now Kolkata),
the weekly newspaper by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla.

A newspaper is publication containing news and information and also advertising,

usually printed on low coast paper called news print. It may be general or special
interest, most often published daily or weekly.

Newspapers enjoyed the position of most preferred medium to reach a wider audience
until electronics communication emerged on the media sense. In previous days,
newspaper was the only medium that masses at large depend on, for daily news. A
newspaper carries all kinds of communication, related to a variety of topics like politics,
socialism, current affairs entertainment, finance, stocks, etc. Apart from this, it also
includes topics which are in lighter vein like cartoon, crossword, Sudoku, movie
reviews, puzzles, which captivate the imagination and interest of the readers, from all
age groups.

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Newspapers are an important platform of mass communication as they reach every
nook and corner of the world where electronic media fails to reach. It plays a pivotal
role in providing authentic first-hand information, building opinion, updating the
knowledge of the reader, and serves a good platform for advertiser to promote the
products. However, with the emergence of internet which updates information every
second, and is just a click away, the popularity of newspapers has reduced. The
twentieth century has seen the rapid growth of the newspaper industry, to the
challenges withstand the challenges posed by electronic media, to speed up the
production process and improve their quality.

Types:

There are many different kinds of newspapers. They can be characterized by size of
the printed page like, broad sheet, narrow web broadsheet, tabloid and King tab.

Newspapers can also be categorized by the frequency of publication such as daily,

weekly, biweekly, three times a week, a 5 day daily or whatever other combination
serves the needs of the particular audience.

Besides these, the classification can also be according to their coverage like,
local/regional and National. For example Gujarat samachar, Sandesh, Loksatta, divya
Bhaskar are the Regional news papers in Gujarat, whereas the Hindu, Times of India,
The Indian Express, Economic Times, Dainik Bhaskar etc. are the national dailies.
However, with the booming of internet in this sector geographical boundaries have
diminished.

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 2. Magazines

Magazines are one such form of print media that give a more specific target group to
the client. The client can make a choice of the particular magazine as per the product.
A Magazine is a periodical which published a variety of articles, generally financed by
adverting and purchase by reader. Magazines also offer advertisers an opportunity to
incorporate various new techniques and ideas. Magazine fall in two categories,
consumer magazine and business magazine They usually carter to a specific type of
audience who are looking for information based on a particular subject.

Magazines cover a plethora of topics like current affairs, business, finance,

consumers, gadgets, self-help, luxury, lifestyle, beauty, fashion, entertainment, travel,
etc. are the subject of periodicals, distinct from those periodicals produced by
scientific, artistic, academic or special interest publishers which are subscribed only,
more expensive, narrowly limited in circulation, and often have little or no advertising.
Magazines like TIME and Reader’s Digest include information which is all pervasive.
The frequency of magazines can be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly,
half-yearly or yearly. These magazines are the best forum for advertiser as they have
a niche readership. The readers look for a specific type of information, for instance a
camera and in a gadget magazine will definitely have a direct brand impact on the
reader who wants to buy a camera. Also the self-life and brand recall of magazines is
far better than newspapers which have a short life span.

Types:

Magazines appeal to an expanding range of reading tastes and interests. They are
designed for homogeneous or special interest groups. Despite their design for special
groups, they developed as a mass medium because they appeal to large numbers in
a national market that cut across social, economic and educational class lines.

Mainly there are two types of magazines.

a) General interest magazines and

b) Special interest magazines

a) General interest magazines attempt to cater to a wide variety of reading interests.

The magazine as a contemporary medium continues to serve surveillance functions,
monitoring what is going on, transmitting the culture, and entertaining the population.

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Its most notable function, however, is correlation - that is, interpreting the society by
bringing together diverse facts, trends and sequences of events. Magazines in
essence, are the great interpreters of what is happening in society.

Magazines have been much more visually innovative than newspapers. Their covers
blaze from newsstands and market racks, thus attracting the readers' attention with
colour and allure of advertisements besides their articles. These are basically news
magazines but they include sections on arts, culture, sports, films, business, politics,
industry, environment and so on. There are about 500 such general interest
magazines focusing on news and current affairs, having largest readership. These are
opinion magazines, which set agendas, shape ideas and start trends. These are read
by government officials, business leaders, educators, intellectuals and others who
affect public affairs. Eg. Time, India Today, Outlook, Readers’ digest, Chitralekha,
Abhiyan etc.

b) Special interest magazines: These magazines cater to the interest of a specific

profession or group. Viz., Business India or Business Today, women's magazines
such as Femina, Women's era, Savvy, Gruhshobha etc., Children's magazines such
as Safari, Chandamama, Target, etc. There are many other special interest magazines
for readers interested in interior decoration, literature, architecture, sports, medicine,
etc. Advertisers use these magazines as medium for publishing their products to the
special target groups.

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 3. A Flyer (pamphlet)

A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement
intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in a public place.
Handbills or flyers are a form of communication which is printed on a small paper. It is
easy to carry, colourful, attractive, and legible to read. They are handed out to all the
passers-by. A flyer should always be crisp and eye-catching so that it attracts people's
attention. These are useful for restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, political campaigns,
concerts, rallies, etc. Peoples are more prompted to throw it away without reading.
Hence, many a time this fails to be an effective medium of mass communication. Flyers
may be used by individuals, businesses, or organizations to:

 Promote a good or service, such as a restaurant or nightclub.

 Persuade or send a social, religious, or political message, as in evangelism or
political campaign activities on behalf of a political party or candidate.
 Recruit members
 Advertise an event such as a music concert, festival, or political rally. Like
postcards, pamphlets and small posters, flyers are a low-cost form of mass
marketing or communication.

Flyers can be distributed in exhibitions, or can be put on walls of colleges and schools,
depending on what kind of audience an organization is looking for. Printing of flyers is
also inexpensive, and so, a stack can be distributed in the neighbourhood, or at
signals. They are commonly used for advertisements, promoting local events and
social agenda.

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 4. Brochures

A brochure is a small book or magazine containing picture and information about a

company, product or service. Brochures give detailed information about the
product/service/innovative ideas. These are mainly distributed at events or even at the
main outlet when a consumer/client/beneficiary needs to read in detail. Booklets and
brochures are a part of promotional literature of product/service/innovative ideas.

Characteristics:

 Contain short information and focused on one thing. Example: brochure about
university
 The aim is to inform, educate, persuade or influencing public to buy or follow or
attend product, service, or program that is explained in the brochure
 Made by attractive design, catchy for public, and made by not too big sized.
Brochure usually has distribution itself and not part of another media.
 Publicized once, but can be republication. If republication, brochure usually has
updated or different information (newer information, date, or year).

Self-Evaluation Exercise:

1. Give TWO names for the following:

a. Print media
b. General interest Magazines
c. Special Interest Magazines
d. Children’s magazines
e. Women’s magazines
f. Regional news papers
g. National News papers
h. Newspaper Supplements of any National dailies
i. Newspaper Supplements of any regional dailies

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 2. Write meaning of the following:
a. Print media
b. General interest Magazines
c. Special Interest Magazines
d. Regional news papers
e. National News papers
f. Tabloids
3. Write Short notes.
a. General interest Magazines
b. Special Interest Magazines
c. Regional news papers
d. National News papers
e. Brochures
f. Leaflet/Flyer
g. Magazines

4. Write in Detail with suitable examples.

a. Characteristics and Role of Print Media
b. Advantages and limitations of Print Media
c. Magazines
d. Newspapers
e. Brochures
f. Leaflet/Flyer

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