Future of printed newspapers ‘telescoping dramatically’
The likely timespan left for print editions of newspapers is shrinking faster than anyone expected, three publishing executives have separately predicted.
First came comments from Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian in the UK, who told an event: “I would miss print.”
“Our last printing presses (which were installed in 2005) I had a feeling in my bones that they might be the last printing presses. I was thinking 20 years at that point. I think that might be telescoping quite dramatically now.”
At the same debate, John Witherow, editor of The Times, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and is about to switch on its paywall, said: “We’ve got new presses that were supposed to last 30 or 40 years. We rather assumed the same thing, that these would be the last. Things are speeding up now and for us to predict how long print will be around is very difficult.”
Meanwhile, at a separate event, the director of global content standards for Pearson, which owns The Financial Times, said the company is already using less presses. Madi Solomon said of newspapers: “They’re investing a lot in their online presence. Yes, they do see the end of print. That pink broadsheet has such fond memories for so many people that I don’t think they’ll completely stop printing, but they will certainly pull back – in fact, they’re already pulling back.”
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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The I-Pad is the end of the newspaper in the same way Palm Sunday was the finish for Jesus. Just like Jesus there will be for a long time a lot of people choosing to read off bits of paper.
But when men get used to carrying a bag big enough to hold an I-Pad or the screens become easy to fold up wallet size then bring out the nails.
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>The I-Pad is the end of the newspaper in the same way Palm Sunday was the finish for Jesus. Just like Jesus there will be for a long time a lot of people choosing to read off bits of paper.
>But when men get used to carrying a bag big enough to hold an I-Pad or the screens become easy to fold up wallet size then bring out the nails.
I am somewhat confused by this analogy.
I also now have visions of people in Biblical times waving iPads at Jesus on a donkey and then driving nails through them.
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It ain’t ever gunna happen.
When people wake up to the fact that the average family, where all members use computers, spends more on data than they do on petrol then we will see some reckoning. And now we are saying that we want them to buy a device as well – for $700 plus – that lets them read a newspaper ? Get real.
Do you really want to rely on Telstra to carry your news and your advertising…the worst consumer organisation in our history…. come on ?
Believe me when it comes to an economic crunch and average ordinary people can only afford their either their data Foxtel or their data plan the Foxtel will win their $$$ every day.
These editors are really out of touch . Blue collars and white collar mass transit commuters will always want their newspaper.
Maybe a few affluent trendoids will switch over completely but the reality is we will see a slight fragmentation as some people take up electronic news but I would even tip an increase in tabloid circulation.
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“the director of global content standards for Pearson,
which owns The Financial Times, said the company is
already using less presses”
Umm: that would be “FEWER presses”, wouldn’t it…
But then in a post-literate age, who’s give a flying f**k?
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