Business | General
UAE newspapers unaware of internet threat
The Middle East's print media is not learning from the failure of European and US newspapers to confront the challenge of the internet, according to an industry specialist.
- By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 September 22, 2006
Dubai: The Middle East's print media is not learning from the failure of European and US newspapers to confront the challenge of the internet, according to an industry specialist.
Print media readership in mature markets such as Europe and the US is expected to plummet by 25 per cent in the next 20 years, linked directly to growing internet penetration and disinterest in newspapers among younger generations.
The trend has forced newspapers in the western world to prioritise their web content in a desperate bid to halt the loss of advertising revenue (especially classified ads) to online sources.
But many experts say they reacted too late to limit the readership slide.
According to Duri Al Ajrami, managing director at Dubai-based interactive media solutions company Igency, regional newspapers are currently making the same mistakes.
He highlighted some exceptions, such as online versions of the Gulf News, Al Ittihad and Al Bayan, which he praised for content, traffic levels and level of technology. But he reported "no overwhelming market movement" towards investing in digital media, despite expectations that the UAE's current 36 per cent internet penetration rate is set to surge.
"Most of the papers are only moving (towards an online edition) because of peer pressure. They feel that they should make the move, not that they must," he said.
"Another growing threat to newspapers is the use of online bloggers as a news source, according to Marcus Wright, a regional senior editor at Dow Jones Newswires.
"As journalists we don't have a monopoly on opinions on what goes on in the world," he said.
Although readership figures in the UAE will inevitably fall, the rate will not be as severe as mature markets, where the decline is between 0.5 per cent and three per cent per year on average, said Reiner Mittelbach, CEO of Ifra, an association for newspaper and media publishing which boasts more than 3,000 members.
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