Media Distinctions Caused by Technology

(Sidebar to Jakob Nielsen's column on the end of legacy media)

Newspapers are published once a day on low-quality paper and deliver quickly written articles with the previous day's news. They have their own distribution network of newspaper carriers to reach subscribers a few hours after their deadline.
Magazines are published weekly or monthly on high-quality paper and deliver more thoroughly researched and written articles that integrate longer-term trends or events. They usually rely on the postal network and reach subscribers a few days to a few weeks after their deadline.
Books are an archival medium and have publication cycles that may stretch across years, sometimes being republished in new editions. They use a distribution network of booksellers to reach buyers a few months after the author finished the manuscript.
Television networks have their own broadcast network that reaches viewers in real time. In contrast to the other media listed here, TV is based on moving images and sound.

There are genuine differences in the type of information contained in each medium, and users need all these types of information. My only complaint is with the packaging: the different types of information are kept separate because of the manufacturing and distribution technologies, even though integration would often provide a better user experience.