Let’s start with a question. Has digital media killed its archaic enemy once and for all? There are a lot of puritans out there that will happily bore you with long diatribes concerned with the death of print and how the evil web machine has robbed journalism, in all its forms, of its innocence. With this, quite obviously, not being true in at least ten different ways it seems that sensationalism is the default setting for those yearning for a supposedly bygone era. But do they have a point?
Let’s look at some boring facts. The magazine industry is worth £8 Billion in the UK alone. This is about 25 percent more than TV and radio industries combined. The newspaper industry pulls in a respectable £5 Billion. Even though the worth of the newspaper is in decline you can’t hide from the fact that it’s still huge business. If you really need to point your blame finger anywhere here then make sure it lands squarely on Rupert Murdoch and his Galactic News Corporation. Invading the privacy of celebrities and murder victims to sell newspapers to idiots is not journalism. Its plain old fiction pedalled by the kind of vultures who would happily sell their relatives most intimate details if they thought it would please their soul hungry master.
So as we can see, the dawn of the digital age has not quelled our nation’s interest in the printed word. However, more and more of the big publications are starting to offer there content for ipad download and whilst this may be a novelty to those who can afford these wondrous gadgets, the rest of us paupers can only look on in digital envy. Or, perhaps not. Call me a traditionalist but as someone who’s obsessed with the magazine format I enjoy nothing more than holding that tangible rag, flicking through it for the first time and mentally placing each article or review in the order in which they will be digested. To me, that can’t be replaced by any digital witchcraft and let’s not forget that magazine’s or books don’t need plugging into the wall periodically to unlock their secrets.
Let’s move on because we must realise that this analogue/digital argument stretches way beyond the confines of magazine journalism. Film, for instance, is currently in the biggest transitional period since Al Jolson uttered the first line of spoken word in the Jazz Singer in 1927. Of course it’s not really film anymore. This, along with the music industry, is the digital age’s true arena where the ridiculous advances in technology have allowed movies to be made for a fraction of the price it used to cost. Most of the multiplexes are getting rid of their old 35mm projectors in favour of one’s that resemble nothing more than itunes attached to a really big light bulb. There are traditionalists to be found here also but significantly more well known and important ones. Quentin Tarantino has recently said that if he is unable to show his movies on the 35mm format then he will retire from movie making altogether to write novels or film literature. The point I’m trying to make here is our generations cinematic, enfant terrible is seriously considering giving up what he sees as a dying art in favour of another, print. And you can be sure that whatever he does write will not be available for ipad download. He may be our biggest artistic casualty in the battle of tradition over progress and definitely one that should not be chalked down to collateral damage.
As mentioned before the music industry has again enjoyed the spoils of technological advances. In terms of production, like film, music making at a professional level has become accessible to almost anyone. This hasn’t been ignored by the professionals either. Damon Albarn recorded The Fall entirely on his ipad and due to how much it didn’t cost him he was in the position to offer it for free. The music moguls are still playing catch-up and, unfortunately for them, they concentrated on the wrong digital enemy. Whilst they were looking one way, damning the rise of free downloading and file-sharing the kids were learning how to use their computers powers for good and creating instead of stealing. To say that they missed a trick would be a vast understatement and a credit to their money orientated priorities.
It is possible to move with the times and reinvent your artistic output. The art world is often the very centre of the old versus new debate and boasts the fiercest of conservatives. Looking at the example of David Hockney raises all sorts of questions around an artist’s medium of choice and willingness to pillage new technology in an effort to create relevance instead of complying with the rules of convention. At seventy one years old Hockney is now displaying masterworks created on ipads and iphones to great acclaim. And what of these questions being raised? I can think of a good one. Does it matter which tools are used if the results are spectacular?
It’s interesting to look at well known cases of this argument but what of the masses? Taking to the internet to share whatever it is you create is obviously the easiest way to promote your work. It covers all mediums and its accessibility is both its defining feature and largest downfall. Blogging sites like Tumblr have allowed the creation of online communities giving instant feedback to each other which, as anyone involved in the business of creating will tell you, is invaluable. When there’s no money involved responses tend to be a tad more honest. The downfall is the amount of sifting needed before you find something to your tastes.
What is there to take from all of this? Will we end up inhabiting a world where that foul, skeletal beast Murdoch offers our privacy as an App? I’m not sure and even though I would love to think of myself as a puritan it would only make me a hypocrite. I don’t have a staff writing job at a top magazine (or any magazine for that matter) so my only avenue of reaching an audience is using the internet and, more specifically, the world of blogging. It’s a medium that gets a bad reputation seemingly based on the lack of an editorial process but for unqualified, opinion vendors like myself it’s our only choice. Digital media has a definite place in our constantly evolving, cultural psyche but whilst this may eventually replace some of its many forms the one that it doesn’t have the power (or need) to replace is the printed word.
Phil Watson
