Recently, I sat down with a friend of mine who owns a hyper-local print magazine that is distributed for free to hundreds of businesses in the area. During our conversation, we started talking about how much the media landscape has changed just in my lifetime alone. I am a millennial, and I saw firsthand the shift from ordering magazine subscriptions to having virtually everything available digitally.
Of course, I let my curiosity get the better of me and had to ask: Why print when everything is digital? Isn't print kind of dead? Why would someone advertise their business in a print publication when they could do it digitally instead?
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I'm glad I asked because the answer I got wasn't quite what I was expecting.
There is no denying that print — magazines, newspapers, and books — is in an uphill battle against online media, which can be updated and published in real time as things happen. But despite that, there are still some benefits to print that are difficult to replicate digitally.
For starters, because print is more expensive to produce, it has increasingly become a niche opportunity, with many publications being owned and operated by smaller businesses rather than large corporate media companies. And that can offer some unique opportunities for advertisers that aren't necessarily available through their big-brand alternatives.
Not only does it mean the audience can be more niche — like my friend's magazine, which is circulated hyper-locally and primarily features local businesses — but it also means those businesses can actually speak directly with the people running the publication.
That can translate into advertising packages and arrangements that a small business might not be able to negotiate with a massive digital advertising platform.
There's also something to be said for supporting a local publication that has an actual connection to the community you're trying to reach. When you're advertising with a hyper-local or niche publication, you're not simply buying space on a screen. You're supporting another local business while putting your own brand in front of people who actually live, work, and spend money in the same community.
And while we're talking about the advantages of print, I think one of the best arguments for keeping it around — whether we're talking about magazines, newspapers or even books — is longevity.
If there is one thing print has over digital, it is that it can stick around.
In 100 years, your digital interview may be long forgotten in some internet archive somewhere — that is, if you're lucky enough that the website, page, or archive still exists. Websites change, links break, companies disappear, and social media platforms come and go. Even the things we think will exist forever online can eventually become difficult, if not impossible, to find in the span of a few years, let alone decades.
Print, though, is different.
We are still reading and referencing newspapers printed in the 1800s. Libraries and museums preserve books that are hundreds of years old. We have pamphlets, manuscripts and other printed materials that give us a glimpse into what people were thinking, writing, and talking about centuries ago.
It seems that a lasting legacy often requires something tangible.
And if you think about that from a PR perspective, whether you're an author, business owner, expert, or organization, getting featured in a publication isn't just about the number of people who see the story that day.
Of course, immediate exposure matters. So does website traffic, social media engagement and the potential customers or clients that coverage can bring in. But there is also value in having a physical record of that coverage.
A magazine article can be clipped and saved, a newspaper can be placed in a scrapbook, a book can sit on a shelf for decades. Someone can stumble across it years later, long after the original story would have disappeared from someone's social media feed, and I believe that's particularly meaningful for anyone who hopes to make a lasting impact, rather than simply generate a one-off viral headline.
I can't deny that something like my friend's hyper-local print publication may not have the readership numbers of a major national website. But it is reaching people who actually live, work, and spend money in that community.
So, if you’re here in 2026 wondering if there’s still any value left in print publications, I’m here to say that yes, there very much so is.
Now Hear This collaborates with authors, musicians, entrepreneurs, and other creatives to sharpen messaging, refine strategy, and find the most effective ways to reach your audience – without losing the voice that makes you you. Whether you need help evaluating what is still serving your goals, deciding what needs to evolve, or identifying the gaps you have not noticed yet, we can walk through it together.