The Page Stays

Print is timeless, indelible, and faithfully at hand. 

When you publish a newspaper in 2025, you get used to people asking where your head is. Because print is dead, of course—just look at it. Lying there inertly on the page, when it could be talking at us from a lighted screen!

Now, before highlighting the persuasive perks of print media, let’s first turn back to the summer of 2009, when Amazon secretly accessed customers’ Kindles and deleted multiple e-books, including, memorably, George Orwell’s 1984.

Amazon said there were copyright issues—fair enough—but people were still freaked out to learn that their “secure” devices could be manipulated electronically without their knowledge or permission. Begs the question, What else can Amazon do through its wireless networks?

Can it replace a book file with an edited edition? Can it monitor what you’re reading and when—and then sell that info to your boss, the police, or the government? 👀👮🧑‍⚖️😬⁉️

These questions aren’t just hypothetical. They illustrate something we tend to take for granted: the printed word is fixed, independent, and impervious to third-party meddling. Digital, by contrast, is vulnerable to erasure, tracking, and alteration. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ways in which print remains a vital medium—even in an age dominated by screens.

📝 Hold That Thought 🧠

Studies show that we retain information better when we read it on paper. Even when participants express a preference for digital sources, tests prove that they simply don’t provide the same recall. Seems our brains store and process printed information better, no matter how much we enjoy the bells and whistles of technology.

Another reason for this difference lies in the way we’re wired to engage with content. Neural imaging suggests the brain works harder when processing digital content compared to analog formats. The additional effort required to navigate scrolling screens, pop-up distractions, and hyperlinks affects concentration as well as memory.

Even in simple storytelling, recollection just isn’t the same. If a group of people is asked to read the same story, the ones who receive the print version will score much higher in comprehension tests than those who received a Kindle. Digital media especially seems to disrupt a narrative’s sense of timing, sequence, and chronology.

This effect has real-world implications, particularly at the local level, where big decisions are being made on nuanced issues like housing, zoning, taxes, and infrastructure. When people struggle to understand digital content, key messages can be lost. Print provides a clearer, more digestible way to communicate vital information.

🤲 A Feel for This ❤️

In addition to helping us learn, print encourages trust and emotional interest. A recent study at Temple University scanned people’s brains as they reacted to printed and digital advertising materials. It was no contest – print lit up the part of the brain associated with valuation and intention. Simply put, people place greater importance on messages they read in print.

Other research found that physical materials feel more “real” to the brain. This tangible quality helps people internalize messages and form stronger associations, making print an especially powerful tool to disseminate news and information, and also stuff like marketing, and public relations that can help small businesses and organizations reach community members who need their goods and services.

🔓🌎 Open Source 💡📖

In a city like Philadelphia, where neighborhoods are rapidly changing, it’s critical to ensure that everyone has access to information. Unlike digital content, which requires an internet connection, a social media account, or knowledge of a particular platform, print is available to anyone who picks it up. It’s a democratic medium—there are no algorithms dictating who sees what.

This is particularly important for reaching households where people may be facing educational setbacks, experiencing economic hardships, or dealing with generational trauma. In the face of digital overload, print can break through the noise and deliver messages in a way that is easier to process and engage with.

📜 Paper Trails 🔍

Beyond immediate communication, print has longevity that digital simply can’t match. Think about historical photographs. Anyone with an internet connection can view the earliest photographs ever taken, while the first digital camera images (captured in 1975) have been lost to outdated technology. The same holds true for important documents and records: floppy disks from the 1990s are now unreadable, while printed materials from centuries past remain accessible.

Printing offers a tangible way to document growth, track progress, and preserve records that digital formats can’t always guarantee. This permanence makes print an invaluable asset for storytelling, history-keeping, and messaging.

🧩🧩 All the Above 🌐

None of this is to say that digital media doesn’t have its advantages. It allows for quick updates, broad reach, and interactive engagement. But when it comes to deep comprehension, memory retention, emotional impact, and accessibility, print has unique strengths that digital media cannot replicate. So the logical question, of course, is: Why not both?

Mixing print and digital is a powerful recipe, indeed. At The Local, it’s our secret sauce for reaching as many neighbors as possible, across social, cultural, and political divides. It’s how we best deliver the stories, information, advocacy, and resources that form the backbone of community news. One offers reach. The other ensures that messages stick, resonate, and endure.

Here’s to the printed page! Our favorite relic. Our inky co-conspirator. You may not trend but you make the rounds: door to door, hand to hand, mind to heart. 🥂✨📰

Thank you to all our readers, wherever you find us. If you’d like to be a part of The Local, please email editor@nwlocalpaper.com and introduce yourself! Proudly “journalisming” since 2014, we appreciate your support now more than ever. 🙏💕

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