I’m here in San Francisco meeting with our clients but have a few minutes to kill so I’m perusing the magazine racks at Border’s at Union Square.
The Michael Jackson covers are everywhere and it makes me stop and think about how his untimely death further showed the differences between print and digital media.
As rumors of his death hit, the internet exploded with a speed and viralness that digital will always excel at. You could nearly instantly get coverage from every news source and share in the moment with millions people worldwide.
Poor print magazines, having just gone to press for the week were left to play catch-up showing their weakness for providing “real time” news and lacking in their ability to be part of the community dialog.
However, in seeing People, Time, Newsweek, US and many others today they are showing the strength that print will always have…to provide complete coverage, in beautiful, portable package, that I can take with me to enjoy, treasure and keep for as long as I want. Digital just doesn’t compare to the richness of imagery and emotion that you get in print.
I love them both for different reasons and would never give up either, but today, I think I’ll buy a People and Newsweek.
