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Monday, January 28, 2013

How the Decline of Print Media Can Benefit TNA

As of this year, "Inside Wrestling/The Wrestler" magazine will no longer be published. It was a print publication that focused more on the in-ring aspect of pro-wrestling than the backstage aspect. "Inside Wrestling/The Wrestler" is one of the many pro-wrestling magazines that have ceased to exist over the years, as readers go online to gain information for free via pro-wrestling news websites in ever-increasing numbers.

The problem with this is that most pro-wrestling news websites mainly focus on what is occurring backstage (in a tabloid journalism style, sensationalizing facts and providing gossip). A very valuable segment of the pro-wrestling audience is more interested in what is going on in the ring- especially the storylines. They are commonly referred to as "marks", people who love basically everything about pro-wrestling (as opposed to "smarks", who hate pro-wrestling yet think they know everything about it). Marks help keep the business alive. They are the fans who order all of the PPVs, attend the most events, buy the most merchandise, and go to pro-wrestling websites more than anyone else. With this segment of the audience losing a source of what they enjoy about pro-wrestling, an opportunity has become available to TNA.

In the past, TNA has featured columns on their website that looked at their company from storyline perspectives. Columns such as Bill Bank's, "Bank Shot" and Abyss', "Monster Blog". It would be beneficial to TNA to bring back this style of online media, since it would definitely draw fans who want to read about the entertainment side of the industry. Print media is basically their only source currently, and it's a source that is quickly fading.

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