USC Grad Students ‘Don’t Much Read Print Products’

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:17:12 -0500

After I sold 101communications to 1105 Media, I began teaching a class at the USC Annenberg School of Communication. It's a graduate class in the management and communications program. The focus of the class is the impact of the Internet on traditional media businesses.

The class is filled with twentysomethings. Most of them have worked for a few years in advertising, publishing, or some form of media, and now they've returned to get a graduate degree. Most want to work in the publishing or entertainment business. But they don't much read print products.

On the first night of class, I told the students that we were studying "news, information and entertainment." So what sources do you have for those, I asked. Under "news," after 10 answers no one had mentioned a magazine or a newspaper. It was all web sites. Under "information", again only digital products-like Google Scholar--were mentioned; no books, even. And when I asked about sources of entertainment, no one ever mentioned actually physically going to a movie-instead they talked about celebrity Web sites, Netflix, Slingboxes, DVDs.

If you are in the print magazine business, these are your future readers. Or not.

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FOLIO: BLOGS Jeff Klein

USC Grad Students ‘Don’t Much Read Print Products’