Samenvatting

The future of traditional print media such as newspapers and magazines has gradually become a topic of discussion over the last few years. Due to the increase in digital media consumption, traditional media companies see their newspaper subscriptions decline and print magazines are slowly disappearing from company’s portfolios. The main aim of this thesis centers on the future of print media in a rapidly changing media environment. The theoretical framework is the foundation of this research and is used to, at a later stage, justify conclusions. For this particular research the author has chosen to use the Uses and Gratification model to depict what needs are satisfied per medium, the Convergence Continuum model to illustrate how media companies can collaborate and a recent media report by Nielsen to show the differences in audience engagement per medium. In this chapter it is highlighted that print media has a more trustworthy image than digital media but that digital media has a higher audience engagement level due to the multimedia options digital media provides. Chapter 3 and 4 focus on how the expert interviews were conducted and consequently analyze the most important results from this qualitative data research. The interviewees mainly stressed the importance for print media to emphasize on their unique values such as their in-depth articles and more effective means of advertising. In addition to this, the importance of innovation within the media sector was also mentioned frequently, and traditional media companies should seize opportunities to innovate rather than to solely stick to their print product. The conclusion of this research is drawn on both the desk-research and the conducted expert interviews. The main findings relate to how print media can diversify themselves from their digital counterparts. The author concludes that diversification can be achieved by means of focusing on a niche market, by adopting media innovation such as ‘Blendle’ or by effectively communicating the advantage print media hold over digital media to their consumers. Detailed results and recommendations are presented further in the thesis.