The future of print journalism?

[stevepole]

I don't know how many of you read the newspaper but where do you see the future of print journalism? More recently the news industry has fallen on hard times. Some newspapers are struggling to even stay afloat (example: Seattle P.I.) . Be it from the lack of readership, advertising dollars, etc.

 

Personally I see newspapers disappearing entirely within the next 10-20 years. In a nutshell I believe this because with the increasing popularity of the internet and the production of digital readers (Kindle, iPad, etc) there won't be a high enough demand for print editions of the news that economically it will only make sense to switch to entirely digital publication.

 

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Obtaurian]

I definitely think you're right in that everything is moving to electronic readers, and newspapers will be no exception. I plan to be an editor for a publishing company someday, so it's interesting to think about it; I may never edit a real paperback book in my lifetime.

 

Well, maybe, anyway. I'm only twenty.

[Riku3220]

Newspapers were once a way to get the latest local and national news at a fair price and a fast pace. Now that we can get information around the world in less than 5 minutes newspapers aren't really needed anymore. Job listings and used cars can also be posted online. I also agree with the newspaper industry going out in abut 20 years. They just aren't as useful as they used to be...

[The Dark Lord]

I disagree with the notion that the newspaper industry should be replaced with online journalism. A hostile nation could simply start a large-scale cyber war against your country and thus prevent civilians from accessing information. The newspaper is simply something that should be kept, despite the convenience of the Internet.

[____]

Despite the shift towards electric media, I doubt print will ever vanish totally. Just because news papers are cannibalizing each other doesn't mean the print industry is doomed. And there are plenty of people who prefer paper of a monitor, I'm not a massive fan of reading news online, as more often than not it is saturated with crap i don't care about.

 

And, it's not exactly portable unless you have a phone/laptop with the capabilities, and then you're access is restricted on terrain, carrier, hardware power, etc. Until you can download the contents of something directly to your brain, print is going nowhere fast.

[stevepole]

Despite the shift towards electric media, I doubt print will ever vanish totally. Just because news papers are cannibalizing each other doesn't mean the print industry is doomed. And there are plenty of people who prefer paper of a monitor, I'm not a massive fan of reading news online, as more often than not it is saturated with crap i don't care about.

 

And, it's not exactly portable unless you have a phone/laptop with the capabilities, and then you're access is restricted on terrain, carrier, hardware power, etc. Until you can download the contents of something directly to your brain, print is going nowhere fast.

 

You could argue in general that news is over-saturated aiding in the decline of the newspaper. You hold a valid point though, which to an extent I agree with.

[Romy]

Even if the written paper in general loses it's status, I can still see agenda-promoting-free-kind-of-papers available in 20 years.

[Jeffwilson99]

It's interesting you bring this point up, as I was having some of these points myself. I just completed a news log assignment where we had to follow the media (primarily newspaper) coverage of an enviromental issue, and much of the media I accessed for this assignment was online. Despite flatting with four other students, we still have a newspaper subscription as we all enjoy reading the paper. It's much easier and a lot more pleasant sitting down in the morning with a paper, rather than staring at a screen.

 

I'm not convinced about your figure of 20 years, I think newspapers have a bit longer left in them, but certainly, within our lifeime we could see newspapers become a thing of the past.

[____]

I would also be tempted to factor in magazines in this issue also, as they also carry targeted "news" articles within them. I can believe a "within our lifetime" end tho. Or at the very least, there is only a small number left to choose from.

[OldJoe]

One can only hope. Media has far too much power.

I've since a couple of years back stopped reading "proper" newspapers, and started to get info from alternative places and also from foreign media since i don't trust ours.

My reason for this? Because media in my country is very bias towards certain political questions and constantly trying to hide certain truths.

[Romy]

One can only hope. Media has far too much power.

I've since a couple of years back stopped reading "proper" newspapers, and started to get info from alternative places and also from foreign media since i don't trust ours.

My reason for this? Because media in my country is very bias towards certain political questions and constantly trying to hide certain truths.

 

I don't know any media that doesn't do that....

[Will H]

One can only hope. Media has far too much power.

I've since a couple of years back stopped reading "proper" newspapers, and started to get info from alternative places and also from foreign media since i don't trust ours.

My reason for this? Because media in my country is very bias towards certain political questions and constantly trying to hide certain truths.

 

That won't change. That will always be the case, paper or not.

 

I think we'll still have papers for now, but it wouldn't surprise me if it goes completely digital in the next 25 years.

[OldJoe]

I admit, it's nice to sit with a paper in the morning and having a cup of coffee. But unless they become a bit more neutral in their reporting i won't support them with yearly subscriptions. But digital media will only grow and grow, and as an example i can take one newspaper in my country, i think it's the 3rd largest one, sacked 100 earlier this year.

[Racheya]

I personally don't imagine it going away. Can you imagine a bunch of builders sitting around at break with a cup of tea and a Kindle? I can't :P Atm the internet isn't as portable and widely available as it needs to be. As weird as that sounds, it still isn't. A large percentage of the population still don't have things like iPhones and mobile internet. I imagine printed media would move to digital means within our lifetime, but not in the next 20 years.

 

Personally I don't care too much if the newspapers stop printing, but if the publication of paper books is halted, I will be very sad.

[Skeptical]

I don't see them disappearing entirely: more old-fashioned people (especially the elderly) will still want them, and there IS something about having it in print: but they're going to be hurt more than books, at least IMO.

[Mirror]

I do agree that technology advances have hindered the print journalism business. But completely wiping out? I would have to argue no. Maybe I just like to hold onto the idea that print won't disappear during my time, but the ease of picking it up is what will be the strongpoint. Technology breaks, papers just rip.

 

But I would have to agree by looking at the magazine business. Studying media campaigns, both of them have been hurting but I'd be more likely to see magazines disappear before newspapers.

[topham]

I buy the Times most days, admittedly not for the news, but for the 4 pages of puzzles that it contains, and how cheap it is in the union shop.

It would be a shame if they were to go, as other people I see most days can be found reading a news paper.

At my uni most people find out what is going on in the world by reading a newspaper rather than using the internet, and they only use the internet for news if they want another perspective on a story they've read.

[stevepole]

I don't see them disappearing entirely: more old-fashioned people (especially the elderly) will still want them, and there IS something about having it in print: but they're going to be hurt more than books, at least IMO.

 

In 20 years the majority of that generation will be gone. Most people 50 and under, in my experience, are more willing to try new technology. Also I feel you need to consider how far technology has come along in the past 10, 20 years. Things are only going to progress from here.

[Orpheus]

I don't see them disappearing entirely: more old-fashioned people (especially the elderly) will still want them, and there IS something about having it in print: but they're going to be hurt more than books, at least IMO.

 

In 20 years the majority of that generation will be gone. Most people 50 and under, in my experience, are more willing to try new technology. Also I feel you need to consider how far technology has come along in the past 10, 20 years. Things are only going to progress from here.

 

I can still see the newspaper surviving in some of the more "rural" areas, if only for local information. A lot of places still only have dial-up, so that needs to be considered.

[Giordano]

I look at the TV and phone industry for this one. It's standard to have a cell phone or have satellite TV now (near-standard for the satellite, kinda iffy with Cable) where as NOT having a cell phone or using antennae for TV is rare.

 

So eventually, though slowly, the printed press will die out. As others have said, not in 20 years but within our life times sure.

[____]

Almost all homes in AU still have antenna for TV even tho cable/satellite is wide spread.. probably because free-to-air TV is still a strong medium and unlikely to go away any time soon.. at least here.. can't speak for the US or UK.

[Wizz]

It's really sad on how I look at a News paper and the heading is "Paris Hilton Breaks Up with Boyfriend."

How our society has fallen....

[stevepole]

I'm bored at work and happen to have ran into this clip from the school's news channel that related to this discussion, so I thought I'd share:

http://asunews.asu.edu/video_20100406_horizonipad

 

Also a look at the future of magazines:

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/02/the-wired-ipad-app-a-video-demonstration/