News-Record.com

During the monthly staff meeting today, a reporter asked me about the future of printed newspapers. I gave some sort of rambling answer that wasn't satisfactory. I've always said that it's the journalism that matters, not whether it comes on processed wood pulp or pixels or sound waves. I worry about the future of print in that it is our dominant revenue source right now, but I'm confident that we're growing digital $$ in the meantime. There are a lot of bright people out there working on business models that will keep journalism principles alive and healthy.

But anyway, now, I can be specific and quote a futurist when I answer that question.

From Brian Cubbison:

Futurist and columnist Richard Watson has written a book called "Future Files: A History of the Next 50 Years" .

They will disappear about the same time Google does, but will outlive petrol-engined vehicles, free roads, national currencies, the European Union, Microsoft, the middle class, spam and Rocky films.

Of course, also in about the same time frame, he predicts Cher will be gone...as will futurists.

Meanwhile, the World Association of Newspapers asked 22 experts what the newspaper would look like in 2020.

Two excerpts:

Juan Antonio Giner: Innovation believes in the future of newspapers, but the newspapers of the future will be very different, better and more profitable than ever if they embrace change and innovation without losing the core and soul of our business: journalism.

Rob Curley: Newspapers are going to survive. Will we be doing things the way we’ve always done them? Absolutely not. In the United States, there are two types of newspaper publishers -- those who think the most important part of the word newspaper is 'news' and those who think the most important part of that word is 'paper.' ... We can't be afraid of reaching our audience in new ways. It will be one of the keys to our industry’s successful future.

I think print newspaper reading is generational. As long as boomers are such a driving force in society, newspapers will be fine. But there's no question that digital journalism is the future. And we're working on developing our skills there.