The publishing industry is just struggling with what the music industry did a few years back. Their creaky old business model has fallen apart and they're split (though I doubt 50/50). There are the folks who don't want anything to change. Remember that line from the Matrix?
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...these people are still a part of that system... You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.
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I don't see the future being a world where this old business model can continue to thrive. I suspect that books will continue to be printed for a very long time, but as technology continues to improve and more people shift towards ereaders, the model is going to shift and other marketing options are going to stand out.
I suspect that publishing is probably going to become a much leaner industry. In my ideal world, printed books would be available only as Print-on-demand. You could buy the book online and walk down to a Kinkos and print it out, or wait for the nice finished copy to show up on your doorstep in a few days. Otherwise, you're buying it for your reader/phone/whatever and reading it in a few minutes.