A recent Gigaom.com article said what everybody is already thinking: traditional media is on its way out.  A “Digital First” approach is rapidly becoming the only approach for most firms to continue doing business.

Digital media is not just a fad, and it’s taking consumer markets by storm.  While many executives who have been in business since before digital media existed tend to focus on the ROI of getting involved in internet marketing, the painful truth is that the ROI is that your business continues to exist.

Gigaom pulls no punches and offers no shortage in urgency about the matter.  A digital element in traditional media is simply the cost of doing business, and is now necessary for weathering the storm to come as mobile devices outpace print media as the primary source of news.

If you aren’t focusing on a “Digital First” strategy, you might not “even be around to participate in the debate for much longer,” according to Digital First Media CEO John Paton. Paton explains that one of the main struggles for media firms going digital is what he calls “legacy costs”, or the costs associated with the previous business model that can’t be immediately terminated.

Newsweek and the Daily Beast announced this morning that they are going to an all-digital format, recognizing that print media is just no longer the appropriate strategy for growth.  Newsweek’s decision is telling of the change in the tide.  Newsweek saw the data and made a tactical financial decision – an example worth following.

A print strategy may continue to be successful for some companies, at least for a time, but the inevitable transition to digital looms down the road.  If growth is the goal, print just isn’t the vehicle to get there, and the market research is indicative of that fact.  Granted, an all-digital strategy like Newsweek’s isn’t necessary for every business, but if digital isn’t a first priority, don’t be surprised to find your profits coming in last.

Bottom line? The tide of public opinion on digital media is in, and print and other traditional media are getting washed out to sea. If the trends continue as they have over the past 5 years, we can expect an exponential drop in print readership over the next 5.

But if you still aren’t convinced, take a look at the infographic below.  The data should send every news team searching for a safe harbor!