Scan-N-Land

Moving towards change

I believe that ink-on-paper publications are doomed. They cost too much to produce and distribute. The change in the newspaper industry will be driven by two things: cost and technology.

I believe that the newspaper of the future will be an interactive publication that will be delivered for free via broadband (possibly wireless) that will feed e-tablets that will become part of people’s lives in the future. As e-tablets and wireless broadband become more common, publishers will take advantage of the technology to deliver their product.

Instead of the local newsagent throwing the paper over the fence from a car, your e-tablet will upload the latest edition of the newspaper automatically while you are sleeping.

The reader will receive a free newspaper and the publisher will enjoy a huge increase in profit because they will no longer have to pay for ink, paper, printing and distribution.

The reader of the future will be able to select whatever newspaper or magazine they want from a menu, or they will be able to subscribe to daily, weekly or monthly uploads of the files every time that the publication is published. The combination of cost and technology, spurred on by the publishers’ never-ending drive for greater profit, will sign the death warrant of the ink-on-paper publication

I believe that they will be free, because the cover price of any printed publication covers only the distribution cost and in no way reflects the actual production cost.

Remove the entire distribution cost and most of the production cost; and it will be in the interests of both publishers and advertisers to give electronic newspapers and magazines away for free to increase circulation.

As e-tablets become cheaper and cheaper, I will not be surprised if newspaper publishers begin to give them away as part of a subscription package that has a once-only up-front fee to cover the cost of the e-tablet.

I believe that change is both inevitable and desirable. And that's what motivated me to become an Interactive Journalism student.

-- Rati Sud

posted by Mark H. @ 12/15/2006 01:18:00 PM