April’s cover of Vogue stuns two familiar faces: Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour. It’s geometric, using bold, blocky colors for the outfits and a pop of red with “VOGUE” across the top to match Wintour’s jacket. It’s the perfect rollout for the sequel “The Devil Wears Prada 2” later this year. There’s no feeling like flipping through the laminated pages, taking in the meticulously laid-out designs and iconic covers.
It doesn’t matter if it’s for a living room coffee table, fashion inspiration or a college night with friends, there will always be a use for print media.
There’s been a shift in media culture; more CDs and records are being bought, with vinyls alone bringing in over $1 billion last year. Physical collections are cherished again. The same shift is happening to movies; more VHS and DVDs are being purchased specifically by Generation Z, according to the L.A. Times.
I predict the same thing is happening to the news right now. There used to be a trust in physically holding the news in your hands, reading it with your own eyes. As generative artificial intelligence creeps more into social feeds, it isn’t suitable anymore to find accuracy on your “for you page.” Society is also beginning to turn on AI, with OpenAI shutting down Sora, their image generator, just last month.
I think we will see a shift back to print, not even in a trendy way, but established as a timeless source of information, as studies show nearly 50% of Americans have little to no trust in AI at all. Print was established and will continue without the use of AI to alter images or text. Print death is pure propaganda.
Pew Research Center’s study on Americans’ leading sources of trustworthy news includes a majority of sources that got their start with a physical newspaper, all of which are still in print today. They’ve already survived the test of time, and I think as we see shifts to having shelves of physical books again, we’ll also see stacks on newsstands.
I hope we see social feeds with people reading the paper again, a cultural shift back to the roots on which a trust foundation is built. We are already taking in an analog culture shift, with 2016 being the trendiest thing about 2026. Nostalgia was trendy. Think about wired headphones and social media cleanses.
Distrust in the apps is increasing, with Meta and Google found negligent in the recent social media case. Calling over texting because it isn’t feasible to be available at all hours of the day. Even down to card-making crafts, handheld video game consoles and handwriting love letters to a significant other. All of these things are adding up, so society trusts what they can hold and have.
With 58% of respondents in an Echo research study revealing concern is still growing for distinguishing false information online, print media still outpaces online media in trust. Especially in an age when images and video can be manipulated, and media literacy is low.
I think it’s still fun to post a photo or scroll for longer than recommended. But don’t count print out, and remember I told you so when magazines are in.
Abby Jenkins is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Abby about her column? Email her at aj205621@ohio.edu.
