PressReader: The End of Physical NewsPapers?

It is no secret the traditional physical newspaper business has been suffering as a result of the rise of digital media consumption. Although many from the older generation still enjoy the feeling of picking up the newspaper and catching up on the world’s news over a coffee, those days are numbered. Laptops, smartphones and now tablets are the tool of choice when reading news anywhere and anytime. Why pay when you can get it for free right?

In recent years newspaper companies have decided to stop fighting the current and freely put their content online. Yes they try to monetize on premium service and content but I believe these subscriptions must be quite low. That’s why revenue has shifted from print advertising to digital advertising and this isn’t a bad thing. There are a number of key benefits when using digital advertising. Firstly, advertisers and brands can get more creative with music, video and motion graphics. Secondly, it is much easier to measure the results of digital ads through click-throughs to an action like purchase.

In line with the print to digital trend, NewspaperDirect has released a mobile app called PressReader that aggregates over 2,100 full-content newspapers from 95 countries in 54 languages. It’s like having all the leading quality newspapers you could ever read in the palm of your hands. I played around with the app to see what it could do.

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