- The invention of the periodical is noted for marking a shift in reading practices—intensive to extensive—that resulted from mass availability of periodicals themselves. By making information accessible, easy to read, and including a variety of content, periodicals helped to change the way in which people learned news and information. It became an expected standard for any well-informed individual to have knowledge of current events:
- "One reads newspapers not in order that one may become learned and skilled in judgment, but only in order to learn what is going on"
- Periodicals gave way to many literary advancements, influencing the production of scientific journals and other publications which have made great contributions to the field of science.
- Newspapers were very cheap and efficient to produce, both because of their small text size and funding allotted by advertisements, much like they do today.
Comment: The mark from intensive to extensive reading was
huge. Not only did it influence the way we absorb information in news writing—reading
and re-reading—but this also feeds into the way in which we study and absorb
information on a daily basis.
Question: Given that periodicals have always survived
primarily through advertisements, how will they be able to make this adjustment
in the future with digital news outlets having a prominent presence?
Print publications seem to have made appropriations to digital platforms in order to appeal to the general public because of our society's growing liking towards digital media. Companies have infiltrated social media sites like Youtube and Yahoo that previously did not contain extraneous links, now containing advertisements for products, current movies as well as "hard hitting journalism"; stories that previously might only be viewed by platforms such as CNN or FOX. through television or print. Sites such as Buzzfeed seemed to create a sense of "self-service" news giving freelance writers the opportunities to display their stories online and get exposure.The New York Times, a respected and well-known print publication has now created an app that can be download on smart phones that essentially has the same interface as the print newspaper itself. Advertisements and current events have become conglomerate items that are displayed next to each other on websites. The White House and other publications now have twitter pages that increase audiences. Links on websites give the reader the opportunity to view and digest a story and then click on about a dozen other sources about the same information, giving them the authority to discern and create their own opinions based on the vast information and angles the story is written through digital news.
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