Final Essay

Citizens in today’s society have a strong penchant for instant gratification. The world has become more fast-paced, and people’s lifestyles have grown to be more hectic; therefore, the value of convenience and accessibility has increased significantly. In conjunction with technological advancements, traditional mass media outlets have adapted in order to placate this facet of society. Brick and mortar bookstores are slowly vanishing as the popularity of tablets and E-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle, steadily increases. Video-rental stores, such as Blockbuster, have entirely dissolved, and the traditional movie theatre is also immensely struggling to compete with user-friendly online video streaming platforms, such as Hulu and Netflix.

Although the internet had been invented several years prior, the public did not have access to the internet until the 1990’s. As the prevalence of the internet increased, newspaper circulation and revenue decreased. According to data revealed by the Pew Research Center, the circulation of The Washington Post reached its peak in 1993, at 832,332 readers. In 2010, its circulation was estimated to be 562,108 readers; and, in 2012, circulation dropped to 484,385 readers (Wormald, 2013). This data is poignant because it illustrates the dramatic impact that the emergence of the internet has had on newspaper readership. When the publication peaked in 1993, the internet was still new to the public, but as internet accessibility rose, circulation and readership plummeted. This correlation was confirmed in a recent article of The Economist that explained, “Britons aged between 15 and 24 say they spend almost 30% less time reading national newspapers once they start using the web” ("Who killed the newspaper?", 2006). This phenomenon has not simply occured in Britain but, rather, has spread across

The Snapchat “Featured” page is a daily refreshed channel that provides content from brands like The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, etc. In contrast to the “Live Stories”, which entirely rely on content that users create, these compositions are generated by reputable brands and publishers. These videos and articles are strategically formatted to be concise and visually appealing because they are specifically designed for viewing on the Snapchat application. This is beneficial because it allows news outlets to captivate a younger audience that often does not connect with traditional newspapers. Furthermore, consumers no longer have time to sift through pages of dense newspaper readings, so this streamlined process of receiving information is