Death of print media is greatly exaggerated, says media expert

Just as Mark Twain famously declared his own, premature obituary somewhat exaggerated, doomsayers have got it wrong about the demise of the print media in the Gulf region, according to one media commentator.

Mo Elzubeir, founder of the media intelligence company Mediastow, says that the print media in the GCC has more life in it than is forecast by some.

He cites a report published in March by the consultancy Booz & Co, which sets out a timeline on when digital is likely to overtake print.

'The Advent of Digital News in the GCC' forecast an "inflection point" occurring in the next few years, at which point there will be a "mass exodus towards digital consumption of news".

The report found that more than three quarters of GCC broadband users have decreased or stopped their consumption of print news, or plan to do so in the next two years.

However, Mr Elzubeir said in a statement issued today that this "mass exodus" from print will occur later than predicted by Booz & Co.

"The only way such an inflection point can be reached in the next 3-5 years is if online-only news providers appear and challenge the status quo. As it stands, I don't see digital news overtaking print in the next 10 years," he said.

"There is a long way for digital news business to win the battle against print media despite the deep broadband penetration in key markets in the Gulf. The print media business in these markets has been able to withstand the threat of digital migration."

Mr Elzubeir added that the relatively small size of the readership in the GCC was one barrier to publishers investing more in digital media.

What do you think? Are forecasts of the death of print media exaggerated? Have your say by submitting a comment below.