Techies still read print

Print, it seems, still has influence, even in the digitized world of Irish technology executives. According to a new survey* 70% of executives in technology businesses read print journals at least once a month and nearly half (48%) read print journals at least once a week.
Not surprisingly the most widely used source of technology industry news is online media cited by three quarters (76%) of respondents. The next most widely used sources are industry print journals (42%) and national newspapers (38%).
The survey, which measured sentiments and media usage among 664 senior executives in technology based businesses around the world including Ireland, found that a further 37% use search tools to access technology industry news.
“These findings suggest that despite the increasing influence of online, there continues to be an appetite for specialist print media,” says Ronnie Simpson of Simpson FT PR. “While magazines and newspapers are experiencing competitive pressure from online news sources, they still appear able to attract readers.”
The survey also found that 26% of executives in tech firms use blogs as a source of news and 30% use various social media formats.
The majority of respondents to the survey (87%) access online news through a laptop PC but 54% now use mobile phones and 16% use a tablet such as an iPad to source news.
“It will be fascinating to see if tablet devices such as the iPad become a saviour for traditional print media publishers and whether the better graphical user experience will encourage readers to pay for this,” says Simpson.

* The latest annual technology market survey conducted by Eurocom Worldwide, the global PR network, in association with Irish agency Simpson Financial & Technology PR. 664 senior level executives in technology based businesses across more than 30 countries were surveyed.