They Say Newspapers May be A Thing of the Past Soon!

[Diontec]

I was watching somthing on T.V. last week and people were talking about taking yellow pages going out-of-business along with some" newspaper sections...So Im guessing the only way to advertise would be online, word-of-mouth and hand-to-hand with brochures-business cards etc.

. What does anyone else think of this?

[lindajess]

I think this is pretty accurate actually. People are getting their news and phone numbers and a lot of other info out on the web. So, yeah, I'd say you are right on that one.

[Sirius Lin]

Seems the likely way to go, but I still prefer to feel of paper in my hands every morning, even if it means some ink stains

~ Sirius

[lelaiskandar]

Old format paper may one day be the thing of the past.

Pdf readers is already able to deliver your news automatically. I think it's a matter of time when it'll be in full color and imitate the look and feel of a real paper.

[JasonKing]

Better hope Mr. Murdoch doesn't hear this...

-JasonKing

[tj]

Originally Posted by Mr. Diontec

I was watching somthing on T.V. last week and people were talking about taking yellow pages going out-of-business along with some" newspaper sections...So Im guessing the only way to advertise would be online, word-of-mouth and hand-to-hand with brochures-business cards etc.

. What does anyone else think of this?

That's what they said also about books because of all the ebooks/ reading devices - and as of today books are still available.

Timo

[Dana_W]

I was a newspaper reporter since 1991 and this absolutely kills me, but our audience is shrinking and growing more fragmented every year. People now think of newspapers as yesterday's news - which is why, at the time that I left a few months ago, newspapers were working very hard on building up their online presence.

I think it's possible that the day will come when there are a lot less print newspapers but I think there will always be a version of newspapers - it seems like they're just moving online and also turning multimedia.

[Anthony J Namata]

From an advertising standpoint via the classifieds, I think newspaper advertising has a longer shelf life in that, one may read the paper, keep the copy and come back to your ad later - or cut it out for future reference. Online advertising on the other hand is a little more complex... grab them now or you've lost them! The competition is fierce. Therefore, I would be quite sad to see the newspaper disappear. I'm an online marketer who brings in tons of fresh leads off the papers - so it will hurt. Ouch!

[mjustice]

I think newspapers will become a thing of the past, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. It's true that the medium is "too slow" -- most cover stories you can read about, as they unfold, online. But the web isn't everywhere, yet. Many people read the newspaper in locations where it isn't practical to read the news online -- restaurants, buses, trains, in bed on Sunday, etc. When it's practical and conveinent to read news everywhere, then you can talk about killing off the newspaper everywhere.

Even then, reporters will have jobs -- they just won't be tied to the printing cycle of the newspaper, but rather the website update schedule that is determined by the editorial staff.

The oppurtunities for marketers will still exist ;-)

[David Chambless]

I tend to believe that newspaper reading and the drop off in use is a generational thing. As the older generations pass, the papers will have to morph into something that appeals to the younger groups.

Many papers are trying to do that now, but they haven't quite figured out how to make it work well enough to stop the slide.

I personally quite reading newspapers years ago. Literally the same stories day after day with different names.

Seems a waste of money and trees to me.

David

[sizzleld]

Well it is still the number 1 thing people use here in Japan!

People still prefer reading the newspaper here in Japan (northern anyways) over getting on the computer.

Its more relaxed and people arent in so much of a rush to grab the information.

Also alot of the local news is found more in the newspaper than on the net.

Im sure its getting smaller too though.

Just giving you a glimpse of how things are going over here.

Sampson

[myob]

Newspapers seem to be holding their own, depending on the market. For example I read in some surveys that 60% of the US population over 45 years of age still read the newspaper as their primary source, and the other 40% or so use both the internet and newspapers. For those under 45 years of age, the readership is losing to the internet and other media.

I still advertise heavily in newspapers, with good results. For me, the newspaper rates are cheaper than advertising online!

[Bruce NewMedia]

I'm in the camp that thinks newspapers in many American cities will disappear in the next 10 -15 years. The costs of distribution, printing, paper, salaries etc. are eating newspapers alive. I love the papers btw, but its hard to see anything coming to their rescue.

Advertising revenues in papers are generally falling through the floor and subscribers are abandoning most major papers at an alarming rate. MY question is, if they are to survive, how is that going to happen.

Assuming the trendline continues down what's going to change?

__________
Bruce

[Dana_W]

Newspapers might eventually be read on some kind of Kindle type product- an electronic news reader.

People are always going to want some form of news - they want to know where crimes are being committed in their city, or when a new school is being built, what college team won, what's happening with the economy, or how the city is spending it's budget, or how long a road project is going to last...

I think the form that newspapers are delivered in will change.

Originally Posted by brucerby

I'm in the camp that thinks newspapers in many American cities will disappear in the next 10 -15 years. The costs of distribution, printing, paper, salaries etc. are eating newspapers alive. I love the papers btw, but its hard to see anything coming to their rescue.

Advertising revenues in papers are generally falling through the floor and subscribers are abandoning most major papers at an alarming rate. MY question is, if they are to survive, how is that going to happen.

Assuming the trendline continues down what's going to change?

__________
Bruce

[CopyMonster]

Originally Posted by vikas1234

You cannot replace newspaper.

Didn't they say that about the buggy whip?

Fact: Newspaper readership is on the decline. Also, effectiveness of TV advertising is declining.

The change is as many know due to the new mediums of info distribution/exchange available.

They also said the office would become paperless. I don't know about anyone else, but our office seems to be filled with as many papers as in the past. Perhaps one day.

My guess is that newspapers will decline slowly and be replaced by some electronic version - like the kindle 20.0 (yes, not 2.0 but 20.0).

I still read newspapers because they are still easier on the eyes for reading a lengthy article than your cellphone and more portable than your 24" flat panel.

Just 2 cents

[oic800]

It will probably take a whole generation or at least more technology before people grow completely comfortable about reading everything electronically. I have also noticed how what many call web 2.0 is changing the internet. I use it, but I have to admit that video content slows down my multifuctional dexterity in that the video forces me to pay attention rather than scan as I continue other tasks simulteanously. So it is with electronic reading in that your progress can be more controlled as you only see what is on the page you're reading. I hate relinquishing control, but those who have never known freedom will still think they are free.

[Oosha]

It is pretty obvious that newspaper readership has declined with people looking for information from other forms of media like the internet and TV.

"Printed words" once considered to be powerful tools no longer seem to hold the same passion to many, the reason being scarcity of time and the easy access to real-time information/news provided by the internet.

This is not to say that people will stop reading newspapers, as that's not going to happen anytime soon. There have been predictions of "newspaper death" for many years but newspapers have been resilient and managed to ride out the challenges from radio and television, and they will continue to be around in spite of the internet.

If I have the time, I'd be more than happy to curl up with a book or a newspaper, and electronic media can't take that away from me.

[Oosha]

Coming to your original question.... I personally feel there's still a long way to go and it may never happen that advertising shifts online completely. Advertisers just have another venue open for them.

[Davidgenius]

If the concern is that newspaper advertising is decreasing in value, the buck stops with the newspapers, and they'll have to (and will, most likely) come up with something that represents increased value to advertising as we know it.

Either way, I don't think we'll see the day when newspapers are a thing of the past.

[colinredk]

I agree that newspapers are evolving from print to electronic media. But it will be in niches or areas. Some geographical areas would adapt to it first like the Scandanavian countries for instance, where there's a high level of dependence (yup, dependence and not just usage) on the internet or maybe in Dubai which is leap frogging to the future in terms of urban development.

To put it into perspective, modern printing presses came into being with Gutenberg (in the West, at least) but newspapers didn't come to fore until the late 18th century (think Ben Franklin). Meantime, the news was disseminated by the town cryer. Same with what we have now, the technology is there, just that the acceptance is not noticeable. (The last point is debatable, because newspaper publishers are increasingly moving to the electronic media.)

The paradigm shift however is not in the media being used but in who or how it is being used. The news is no longer in the hands of the publishers, but in the masses. This is the age when blogs are news portals and news portals have blog pages. Case in point was the London subway bombing a while back, or any recent urban explosion, and you would note that the news establishment use materials from cell phone cameras who were there when it happened.

News is about immediacy and urgency. And newspapers have to evolve with that.