Newsweek announced its last print edition

[eMTe]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... sweek.html

Soon more publishers will probably follow. Polish experts predict that last print editions of major Polish dailies and weeklies will appear in 2020. How do you think it will affect press market and people's reading habits? Basically, it's the modern incarnation of the "tv kills radio" issue - it proved to be false, because radio is still irreplaceable in some situations: during driving, in kitchen, when you want to relax on sofa or need to engage your visual sense otherwise. Imo there will always be a certain percentage of people that will never adapt, so publishers will either return to print papers on smaller scale or new publishers will fill the niche. Also, the experts Ive listened to claim that paper editions will become sort of fashion you follow in social situations - reading paper instead of tablet in bus or park will work as a clothing you wear and will emphasize your "oldschool", "indie" and "intellectual" status.

Opinions?

[Scythe]

Once the technology becomes cheap/handy enough that everybody has access to an efficient reader/writer, that'll be the end of paper. Maybe we can still save the rainforest. People still using paper will be stigmatized and ostracized by society and pursued by angry environmentalists. On the plus side, no more paper cuts.

[Pater Alf]

The end of paper won't come. They said cinema will kill theatre and TV will kill cinema and none of it happened. Maybe paper will loose market share, but it surely won't disapear. There are still lots of people who want a sensitive experience and digital medias are not able to give that.

[eMTe]

Once the technology becomes cheap/handy enough that everybody has access to an efficient reader/writer, that'll be the end of paper. Maybe we can still save the rainforest. People still using paper will be stigmatized and ostracized by society and pursued by angry environmentalists. On the plus side, no more paper cuts.

What if somebody doesn't want to have "efficient reader"?

As for angry environmentalists I am already pursued by angry marxist feminists, and since these types of views usually come in package I guess I should start building new defense turrets for my tower.

[Zyx]

Maybe we can still save the rainforest. People still using paper will be stigmatized and ostracized by society and pursued by angry environmentalists. On the plus side, no more paper cuts.

I believe the real threat to rainforests is agriculture, not paper mills. Also, paper is quite sustainable because not only is it recyclable but trees grow back.

In my opinion, the situation in the newspaper industry can't be used to predict anything else what's going on in people's reading habits. The business of newspaper companies is to publish news, the paper is just a medium. However, what most newspaper companies do is just print news on paper and deliver it on to your home - they're in the logistics business, not in the news business. Due to the internet, dissemination of news has changed the economics for delivering paper. The daily newspaper as physical being is a dinosaur.

I find it strange that Newsweek is following suit, considering it contains articles that are longer that most people find comfortable reading online.

But hell yeah, no more paper cuts.

[Scythe]

What if somebody doesn't want to have "efficient reader"?

What if somebody doesn't want to stop smoking in your face?

Paper is dead. Dead I tell ya! The world ends in 2012!

[eMTe]

The daily newspaper as physical being is a dinosaur.

Unless, as I said, there will always be, smaller or greater, demand for holding paper in your hands. Some people may just find it comforting, like stroking cat.

[Zyx]

The daily newspaper as physical being is a dinosaur.

Unless, as I said, there will always be, smaller or greater, demand for holding paper in your hands. Some people may just find it comforting, like stroking cat.

Well, the dinosaurs didn't all die off, we still have some around, they're called birds. There may very well be people who want to hold paper, and there probably will exist a market at a certain price, but it will be totally different from what we have today.

[Pater Alf]

I think you have to differentiate between certain fields of literature. I'm pretty sure that most people will keep their business and specialist literature on e-readers. It's much easier to carry it around that way and use it whenever you need it. On the other hand there are things like artbooks, picture books for children, comics for which electric readers doesn't work well. And I'm also pretty sure that most people will still prefer paper for their 'normal' novels. After all, reading is a multi-sensual process and you can't emulate this using an e-reader. If you don't know what I'm talking about, try to take a smell at one of your favourite books from your childhood/youth.

[Chroelle]

DAmmit I missed out on a god debate. I see your point PA, but... The business of newspapers is to bring news, and news has a shortened lifespan before becoming old news now. A century ago news was still what had happened last month - and was related to you not having heard of it. News last decade was related to a televised short version of what the printed papers where all talking about that day - but now, news is something that changes during the hours of a day. You couldn't sell a paper regarding Felix jumping out of the sky, but you could surely attract people to websites that was updated on a second-basis.

Newspaper version: Felix Baumgartner might jump out from space in an hour - read about it all TOMORROW.
Web-version: Felix is jumping, no wait, not jumping, mission postponed, later this year? Oh wait, is he gonna jump, he is gonna jump. No wait, or will he...

News is something we want to be updated on NOW not tomorrow, but NOW. I only read newspapers when I pick up take-out, and only the sports section because I never read those to a full length online. So they fill out a void for me there, but nowhere else, and not for their news-related content.

I see the paperversion disappearing from the markets before 2020, but only to be replaced with a foldable paperthin-computerscreen (which wont give you papercuts!).

[eMTe]

News is something we want to be updated on NOW not tomorrow, but NOW.

If we keep this pace, soon news will be understood as something that only WILL happen.

Id pursue the topic, but hangover put so many thoughts about philosophy, Universe, relationships, evolution, computers, nature of language and future of newspapers into my mind that I decided Id better go to work.

[eMTe]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/03/news ... cember-15/

Beginnings are hard.