One cannot be binary about how the rise of Digital means the demise of Print. Doing that would be like raising a question on Culture VS Evolution. Hard copy magazines and books are deeply evolved entities. As imperialistic as Digital may be, yet, it will not, at some indeterminate point in the future – as some infer - and regardless of how e-books and web magazines have doubled since 2010, put Print out of business. The e-approach is by no means, invariably applicable as there will never be a single kind of reader out there to back it up.

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Print comes with some grounding quality that one can’t dispute. Information put on paper translates to tangible metrics. Vox media and James Bankoff will never become the digital equivalent of Si Newhouse’s original vision filtered into Condé Nast. And even when the latter goes to pursue a digital channel, e.g. Vogue Channel, it’s a success only when done in a custodian frame of mind that does not supersede the House’s origin, core philosophy and basic set of principles. Print aims to introduce one to a piece of information and trigger a feeling/thought but not further interpret it. Digital on the other hand, gives one access. News portals are not designed to embed an information in the digital format for the sake or sheer joy of the sighting alone but cause one to further investigate while granting them access for they serve as pipelines to infinite information and ultimately become virtual data hubs.

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If we are to engage in a conversation about the lack of constraints and portability, then it’s all about Digital. If we are to engage in a conversation about the vitality of classic narrative, then it’s all about Print. But if we are to engage in a conversation about counterbalance and diversity, then we need to acknowledge that not all stories are meant to be told in the same way and not all readers want to consume it identically. The need for publishing houses and news websites to stay relevant with their designated audience’s needs, is what will continue to feed a spectrum of appetites and necessitate the resourcefulness to do so efficiently.

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True value lies in the synergy and/or co-existence of things these days. It is interesting to think what sort of dynamics would derive should Print encompass, even a single unit of Digital and vice versa. Print and Digital can complement each other and remain essentially divergent for one was not build to replace the other, for replacement is the case only in the event of an inferior other.