Assignment 4: Print vs. Online Sources

Anywhere you go, anything you look at, you are constantly surrounded my media. Since we can't escape it, we might as well embrace it. Pretty much everyday right before I get on the bus to head over to campus, I pick up some sort of light reading which highlights current events or stories that have happened in Buffalo or on the University's campuses. My choice is obviously the Spectrum Newspaper because it is the only circulated newspaper around campus. From this source of media, I can retrieve information regarding events, sports, and the latest happenings around Buffalo. Many people rely on this media source for their touch into the outside world. Newspapers and media in general allow us to feel included and up-to-date on current events without having to attend every function and participate in everyday research.

The Spectrum is a student run, student written newspaper which circulates 10,000 copies every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that the University at Buffalo is in session. In examining the print version and the online version, basically only one similarity arises. Many of the same stories are shown both in the print newspaper and in the online version. Although many of the stories have been shortened online, they are still the same basic stories when you compare them.

Besides the stories being the same, a plethora of differences is displayed between the sources. In the print newspaper, whole stories are printed whereas online, they have been shortened and lack detail. Sometimes in print newspapers in order to get the reader to keep reading, the editors start a new story before finishing a previous one and write: continued on page 5 or whatever page the story continues on. In the online version of the Spectrum, it appears that where those stories were cut off and continued later in the print newspaper, the continuations are left out online. Normally I would say that this is due to fees of newspaper reading. In my hometown Corning, The Corning Leader, a local newspaper has an online source. It only allows you to read a few sentences of every article online because in order to read it fully they want you to buy the newspaper or subscribe daily to it.

Online in the Spectrum Newspaper, there are directories and search engines for anything Spectrum related. There also is easily accessible contact information if you would like to advertise or post your resume.

Although the print version of the Spectrum seems more dense in its content, the online version has many great attributes like searching for past news articles. Both media sources are great ways to catch up on local news and get yourself up to date on events and happenings around the campus and Buffalo, NY.

I thought this was a funny advertisement for a newspaper. It shows that to some people, reading the paper with their cup of coffee in the morning is the most important part of their day.

As far as advertising goes, the print source had great advertising whereas the online Spectrum had none. Some ads in the printed newspaper were full pages, and were very informative. They seemed to be placed very carefully taking into consideration how someone, most likely students and faculty at UB, would read the newspaper. One thing I did notice was that most of the ads were towards the outside of the paper which makes sense because a person reads from left to right, having to go over the ads in order to get to the story and then back over more ads on the next page.

Works Cited

Staff, (2008, Feb 4). The Spectrum

Staff, (2008, Feb 4). The Spectrum. Retrieved February 5, 2008, Web site: http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/