How print media can win in the digital age

This paper establishes for one leading Australian newspaper at least, that reader trust is strongly tied to perceived closeness to that newspaper brand and closeness enables a brand to build a “brand tribe� with the capacity to influence a range of member behaviour. The paper argues that a medium must become a brand if it is to win in the digital 21st century and that a “newspaper� may have nothing to do with “paper�. It is conceivable that eventually a powerful newspaper brand may be able to bring moving pictures to its online “tribe� more credibly than a� television brand� and news commentary to the Internet more credibly than a “radio brand�. Clearly more work needs to be done to extend these findings across a range of newspapers and magazines.

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