Shaena Friedman Response to Where Will We Be in 10yrs.

I, too, am one of those people that revels in the daily ritual of a handheld newspaper.  A future without newspapers would be both a major personal and societal loss.  However, the extinction of the newspaper would not indicate that technology has gone too far, but simply that the newspaper industry has not been quick enough to adjust itself accordingly.

It was about ten years ago that the major newspapers went online and made the decision not to charge for their services. Currently, most newspapers can be accessed for free online.  Not that there's anything wrong, or even undemocratic, about free news.  But the newspaper industry has been slow in its strategy to remain economically viable in its printed form.  The industry needs to come up with a way to thrive on the Internet while still being able to offer their original, timeless product. 

Secondary online news sources such as AOL, MSNBC, or Yahoo are dominating the Web, providing people with less incentive to get their news from the original news sources.  People forget that without these primary sources, they would not have the democratic ability to access this information in the first place.  The newspaper industry needs to boldly emphasize its dedication to, and importance in, our society.  I'm sure this is not a new concept to those behind the wheel, but clearly more needs to be done if newspapers are going to win this fight. The industry needs to drastically reposition itself with hardcore marketing, PR, and by strategically (and I mean very strategically!) utilizing all the new conventions that seem to be bludgeoning it to death. 

For some more information and statistics, visit http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-m...n-newspapers-die-do-they-make-sound-part-1 and people-press.org