Week Eight: Digital Media

It is truly amazing how far media has come. It seems like only yesterday that music was either on LPs or cassette tapes, movies were on VHS or Beta, and books, magazines and newspapers were actually on paper. Now all are available on a device that can contain most, if not all, of your library and still fits in your pocket. As someone who used to work in the newspaper industry, I definitely was resistant to the change and still feel a hint of sadness when I think about how much time and effort I have put into designing and editing newspaper pages. However, industries must adapt to survive, and I am hopeful that the newspaper industry can make the changes necessary to stay in business for years to come. An increasing number have resorted to charging for their online content, which used to be free. I definitely think this is necessary, as a lot of time and money went into producing that content. As for other forms of media, I definitely miss going to Tower Records the day one of my favorite bands would put out a CD and holding it in my hand, as opposed to now just clicking a button and downloading it to the computer. I feel the same way about books, and am slowly becoming more comfortable reading them in digital form. Over time digital will become the norm, as the benefits clearly outweigh the drawbacks.