Online media is replacing print media. It is a fact that PR agencies need to embrace.I hear talk about how PR agencies look to more reputable “papers” before they look to online pubs for the top news stories.But, think about it: where do readers go first when they hear about news while at work?Do they all run en masse to the local news stand 40 floors below them? Do they all run home and turn on their tv? Do they run to their car and turn on the radio?Oh, no, my little grasshopper. . . they go online!It is a fact that was reported by all online mediums. Last week, “Obama Rocked the Web,” according to AdWeek:

On Jan. 20,CNN.com Live served more than 26.9 million live video streams globally and 36.7 million streams overall. According to CNN’s internal data, that figure is more than five times the previous record of 5.3 million live streams set on Election Day last year, which at the time was record shattering.

PR agencies need to wake up and smelled the coffee. Every major paper now has its own blog where they are breaking their own stories.More and more major papers are letting go of their print publications and turning to online media. One of the most well-respected papers in the U.S., the Christian Science Monitor shut down their print publication and are now completely online. Joining the online ranks are the Kansas City Kansan, San Francisco’s AsiaNews and both Detroit newspapers–the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.Face it, when the advertising dollars flee to online–as they already are–the papers will follow.They already are. The smart news mediums use one to leverage the other. Some are just hanging on to their denial.
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Addendum: one of my online friends–thanks UTROUKX!–sent me this 1981 video.