The future of newspapers

Brian · 10-18-2005, 09:30 AM

There have been a lot of articles in the mainstream media recently about how the newspaper and magazine industries are suffering from declining subscription rates and circulation as people read more content online. These industries must adapt and embrace digital content or they'll suffer the consequences. If you are interested in reading more about the future of traditional print media like newspapers and magazines, and how new devices and services utilizing E Ink technology could be their saviors, here are two recent articles for your reading pleasure that I highly recommend.

Newspapers: The Future by Frank Ahrens at the Washingtonpost.com

A future written in electronic ink? by Ben Vershbow at if:book

In Frank Ahrens' article, he talks about a scene from the futuristic movie Minority Report, and how a concept device shown in the scene could be a preview of devices to come:

In the scene we're interested in, a Metro passenger is reading a USA Today. It LOOKS like a USA Today in that it's a full-page newspaper (called a "broadsheet") but instead of a handful of papers, it's a paper-thin video screen, thin enough to fold up and put under your arm. Instead of static photos and text, it's constantly changing text, video and perhaps sound. Think of it as a combination paper, television and Internet, presumably wirelessly connected to a futuristic Wi-Fi, perhaps the next generation of the new Wi-Max super hotspots that are rolling out and cover several square miles instead of several square feet.

Is such a device in our near future? Will technologies like e-ink, RSS feeds, Wi-Max, and streaming media make newspapers of the future that bear little resemblance to current formats?

Related: Newspapers feeling the heat in the digital age, E Ink goes color with new advanced electronic paper

Antoine of MMM · 10-18-2005, 10:57 AM

As much as I want to see things go eInk and PDA-like, the fact is that paper has an emotional attachment to the fabric of many people's lives. It would be more likely to think that change would occur first on the side of content providers, giving lower amounts of print info, or giving a complelling reaosn to have dynamic info in front of them (maybe that typo of "see the video above" when talking about a news story). Places like CBS news are already looking to revamp their entire media news structure to have dynamic content a fabric of their news, instead of the report nature; I think this would have to happen before eInk and other tech gives us reason to stay with the change.

Of cource, TX's priced at $50 wouldnt hurt the cause either.

10-18-2005, 09:30 AM	#1
Brian MobileRead Editor Posts: 447 Karma: 84 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Massachusetts Device: Treo 700p, Zodiac2	The future of newspapers There have been a lot of articles in the mainstream media recently about how the newspaper and magazine industries are suffering from declining subscription rates and circulation as people read more content online. These industries must adapt and embrace digital content or they'll suffer the consequences. If you are interested in reading more about the future of traditional print media like newspapers and magazines, and how new devices and services utilizing E Ink technology could be their saviors, here are two recent articles for your reading pleasure that I highly recommend. Newspapers: The Future by Frank Ahrens at the Washingtonpost.com A future written in electronic ink? by Ben Vershbow at if:book In Frank Ahrens' article, he talks about a scene from the futuristic movie Minority Report, and how a concept device shown in the scene could be a preview of devices to come: In the scene we're interested in, a Metro passenger is reading a USA Today. It LOOKS like a USA Today in that it's a full-page newspaper (called a "broadsheet") but instead of a handful of papers, it's a paper-thin video screen, thin enough to fold up and put under your arm. Instead of static photos and text, it's constantly changing text, video and perhaps sound. Think of it as a combination paper, television and Internet, presumably wirelessly connected to a futuristic Wi-Fi, perhaps the next generation of the new Wi-Max super hotspots that are rolling out and cover several square miles instead of several square feet. Is such a device in our near future? Will technologies like e-ink, RSS feeds, Wi-Max, and streaming media make newspapers of the future that bear little resemblance to current formats? Related: Newspapers feeling the heat in the digital age, E Ink goes color with new advanced electronic paper

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10-18-2005, 10:57 AM	#2
Antoine of MMM Mobile Ministry Magazine Posts: 119 Karma: 4507 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Charlotte, NC Device: Nokia N75/N800 Internet Tablet	As much as I want to see things go eInk and PDA-like, the fact is that paper has an emotional attachment to the fabric of many people's lives. It would be more likely to think that change would occur first on the side of content providers, giving lower amounts of print info, or giving a complelling reaosn to have dynamic info in front of them (maybe that typo of "see the video above" when talking about a news story). Places like CBS news are already looking to revamp their entire media news structure to have dynamic content a fabric of their news, instead of the report nature; I think this would have to happen before eInk and other tech gives us reason to stay with the change. Of cource, TX's priced at $50 wouldnt hurt the cause either.

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