Threat or opportunity? How the publishing industry can make the most of digital disruption. How did the performance indicators for the newspaper publishing companies do last year? How do readers consume news? Do readers have a greater preference for digital or print?

The latest trends and developments in the media industry were scrutinized and discussed during the 30th Media Days conference, which took place last week in Munich. It is clear that reading the news is completely in vogue. The number of people who read at least one newspaper – either in print or online – has increased from 59.2 million in 2015 to the current figure of 60.1 million. The magazine publishers also have good news to report. Philipp Welte, Member of the Executive Board of Burda, is on record as saying that people would still continue to buy magazines even after two decades of digitization.

Every year, 2.5 billion magazines are sold in Germany and Germans spend EUR 260 million each month on magazines. However, a detailed analysis shows that the medium of print is continuing to decline. In 2016, the number of printed magazines and newspapers fell. Moreover, the focus of ad clients and their budgets is increasingly on online and readers are also seeking information online. More than half of German-speaking citizens regularly read a newspaper online.

Nevertheless, print still continues to feature. The following figures show just how important the combination of print and online is: this year, publishers were able to reach 16.7 million more users through the combined channels of print and digital than through print alone. Printed newspaper and digital offerings reach 86.3% of the German-speaking population over the age of 14.

Together we are better! Print and digital need to work hand in hand in future. The focus will therefore be less on "Print first" or "Digital first", but on providing the reader with well-researched and easily available content as effectively as possible. Readers themselves will choose the channel via which they will consume the news. The Managing Partner of publishing company Inspiring Network (Emotion), Katarzyna Mol-Wolf warns: "It is important that we do not abandon our content." She is calling for a partnership among publishers to publish their content in a digital kiosk where it will be available for a fee instead of providing their content through the Facebook App Instant Articles for free.

In order to provide readers with this option, publishers need innovative tools that enable digital publishing via an app that acts as a digital kiosk. OneVision Software AG, a leading provider of software solutions for publishers and printing companies, has developed a digital publishing tool called Mirado, which facilitates much more than only the fee-based publication of online content. In addition to a paywall and subscription model that links both print and online versions, a comprehensive tracking tool allows publishers to get to know readers and their reading habits.

The publisher thus obtains information about when readers download articles, how frequently they open the online version, how long they spend on specific pages or how they respond to push messages informing them about the publication of the latest online version. A better understanding of reading habits means that content can be optimised and structured in a more interesting way. Another benefit is the loading of dynamic ads, such as promotional videos that link to web stores or even interactive ads that allow the reader to engage "playfully" with the brand or product. Of course, ads are not the only elements that can be designed in multimedia format, the content of the publication can be designed in a way that is attractive to the reader and can be quickly enriched via picture galleries and slideshows, videos, audio sequences and HTML links in a user-friendly way. Apps created using Mirado are compatible with all current device systems, app stores and operating systems and run on iOS, Android or Windows, regardless of device.

Many prestigious newspaper and magazine publishers, including the Salzburger Nachrichten and Dar al Hayat and even advertising agencies like Polaris Media are benefiting from the extensive advantages offered by the digital publishing tool Mirado.