The influence of new media, an introduction

In this blog we will have a look at the influence of new media on glossies. Sofie Spindler has worked as an art director specialized at visual brand identity and she asked us the following question, which we will answer in this blog:

Is the medium really still the message? Have digital media and interactive media influenced and pushed and reinventured the structure of the classic magazine format?

The question is asked in the video below:


To answer this question we will look first at different sources which could help us to answer this question. The assumption that the medium is the message is first formulated by Marshall McLuhan. He says that ''Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate that by the content of the communication.''
An example about his vision can be seen here:


We will ask ourselves if the medium really is the message in the case of glossies.
We will look at the new digital and interactive media and how they are an addition to the classic format. We will look if the new media will enforce the glossy or not.
Some suggest that it will be harder to publish magazines in this digital age. The future of this branche is discussed in the investigation of PricewaterhouseCoopers by Connected thinking. The outcome can be found here:
http://www.pwc.com/nl_NL/nl/assets/documents/pwc-future-of-magazine-publishing.pdf

The relationship between printed and online media is also discussed in the following article:
http://managing21.skynetblogs.be/post/6772628/gedrukte-media-blijven-belangrijke-entertainm

We will look at this more further in our next blogs.

Another big aspect in society, and of course also glossies are advertisements. The way in which they play a role is discussed in the article below. It describes the way in which printed advertisements have more influence on their readers than they have in online magazines.
http://www.nuv.nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/Mediahandboek%20GPT%20-%2014%20april.pdf

This article below describes the influence of new media on society and the changes over time in reading online or on paper. The article was prestented by the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau, SCP, and is titled:
Oude en nieuwe media voeren strijd om schaarse vrije tijd

In this media blog it is discussed how online media is not a replacement for the printed newspaper. In this article this statement is discussed by examples from society:
Online kranten vormen geen vervanger van gedrukte media

In our next blog we will try to give a more specific answer to these questions after reading and analysing the sources above.