Ipad as Newspaper in Digital Age

(Source from http://www.sfnblog.com)

Trotter (2011) written the article titled ‘Ipad- only Newspaper Furthers Media Trend’ published on thecento.com has argued about the transformation of traditional media to digital media in this generation. In the digital newspaper, users are able to get the latest update as social media tools are applied in it such as Twitter. Furthermore, Ipad owners are able to interact with the publication by purchasing the news application and also customize their favorite news page. In spite of that, subscription news online is much cheaper compare with print newspaper. In this digital age generation, print media has been declining and the younger generation will prefer read news online instead of solid materials as they claimed that it is more convenient. However, there is still some public would refuse to use tablets as newspaper as they have their flaw such as application crashes. In short, the declining of traditional media will continue as the new media has slowly taking over it.

(Source from http://www.nytimes.com)

I personally think that with the improvement of technology, there are a lot of print materials are getting digitize such as letters, books and newspaper, which related to the article that I mentioned above. Undeniable, digitize the print materials have brought various aspects that quench the public demand in this generation. ‘Internet site combines text and images in complex structure with logos, menu bars, hyperlinks, hot spots, video clips, animations, graphics, music, sound effects, voice- over or write- over (Walsh, 2006). Compare with the print-based newspaper, Ipad has all these functions. Ipad as newspaper contains hyperlink, where it allows ‘readers’ to go for further reading in just one- click away. With all these features, it will be more interesting and convenient to the users. Walsh (2006) also stated whether is print- based or multimodal text, the similarities is just about meaning- making by using the combination of words, images and link. In shorts, Ipad as newspaper has created a hierarchy in this current generation.

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References:

1. Trotter, C 2011, ‘Ipad- only Newspaper Furthers Media Trend’, The Cento 17 February, viewed on 5 November 2011, http://www.thecento.com/news/2011/feb/17/ipad-only-newspaper-furthers-media-trend/

2. Walsh, M 2006, ‘Textual shift: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts,’ Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pg.24-37, viewed on 5 November 2011.

3. Stevens, T 2011, ‘The Daily Ipad ‘Newspaper’ Launches, $.99 weekly or $39.99 per year’, Engadget 2 February, viewed on 5 November 2011, http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/02/the-daily-ipad-newspaper-launches/