Newspapers were first printed in the seventeenth century during the industrial revolution which started off in England. Prior to this official Gazettes and bulletins are handwritten and circulated. Quite understandably, it was a difficult task to produce large number of such journals. Wide circulation of newspapers was possible only after the invention of printing press by Gutenberg. Large scale publishing process came into existence with the advent of printing technology. The availability, popularity and importance of published news and newspapers have been growing since then. But recently, age old paper printed newspapers are facing a steady decline because of the stiff completion the print media is facing from online digital media.
In today’s world, practically every field of work is shifting towards digital implementation. From mechanics to art, every subject is dealt with in binary numbers. Media is one of the most profoundly impacted fields of work in terms of digitization. Information is carried to all parts of the world in the blink of an eye through internet. No one can imagine modern lifestyle without the usage of computer. Nitty-gritties of life have come under the domain of electronics and digital expression. The print media comprising newspapers, journals and magazines is also not spared from falling into the web. A number of online portals and shops, called Digital newsstand, dealing exclusively in online news and magazine publications have come up since the advent of digital media.
News publication in the present times has gone online. These are virtual newsstands that provide platform for distribution of various downloadable soft copies of newspapers, journals, and magazines. One such portal is Taable Note. It is the world’s first digital platform for news distribution that uses RSS and Facebook pages as its source of news. These newsstands can be subscribed to, and news feeds can be customized according to the subscriber’s interests.
Online news publication has both its pros and cons. Digitization of news has enabled breaking and sensational news to reach the readers in real time. Softcopy versions of newspapers and journals reaching the subscriber on his phone, tablet, laptop or PDA means one does not have to deal with large and loose pieces of paper make his news reading experience and cumbersome one. We often face trouble with a huge number of physical newspapers and magazines piling up every day. We do not know how to store them efficiently. But, with the coming of the digital media, storage is a trifle issue. All your read and unread materials can easily be stored in your digital device.
One of the most important benefits of digital newspapers is that it saves a lot of paper. With environmental hazards growing day by day, conservation of paper and plant extracts is extremely important to maintain biodiversity and to ensure human civilization marches on safely. But with all positives comes a set of negatives as well. One of the noteworthy drawbacks is that too much digitization causes a lot of people to lose their jobs. No longer are those workers required who were once essential for the publishing and distribution of large number of newspaper and magazine editions.
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