Another quote about not so much the demise of newspapers but the future of journalism:

Steve Jobs and the Future of Newspapers

Jobs said his top bookmarked website was WSJ.com, but he predicted that in five years there would be no more printed newspapers. This conversation occurred in 2006, so his deadline has passed. But his intent was to be provocative. He wanted to challenge older media to adapt to how he thought people would consume their product.

He said he had a story to explain the future of print newspapers. "I have a dog," he said. "I love to take my dog to the park, throw him a stick and have him fetch it." Whenever they went to the park, Jobs said, "I would wish I could go toss a stick more often." My expression must have indicated that I wasn't quite sure where his story was going. He explained: "Whenever I have the time to pick up the printed version of the newspaper, I wish I could do this all time, but our lives are not like that anymore."

He thought daily newspapers should evolve to suit how he wanted to consume information. When he released the iPad a few years later, he was glad to help news publishers by letting people access their favorite news sources on a portable, constantly updated and beautifully produced tablet. Many readers now use their iPads to get news and information, either through iPad applications or through the tablet as a handy web-browsing device.

Full Article is at the link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203476804576616871489146878.html

I was reading a blog in Post-Gutenberg about a proposal to allow readers to become stakeholders in a newspaper and it included a list of reasons why such an idea was unlikely to go forward. It really comes down to the publishers, who are the only members of the Press who generally actually make money. This was item fourth on the list but from my experience is probably the most accurate.

Fear of losing power. Most publishers of the print era cannot give up the idea of journalists and editors performing on a stage for readers – the audience down in the pit, which is where they would like them to stay. They cannot accept that technology has made it realistic for readers to want – indeed, expect – to share the stage with them, even if only in walk-on parts, in most cases, at the start.

The other reasons are Too New, Protectionism, Semantics and Pessimism. Good read.

URL: http://post-gutenberg.com/2011/09/05/wanted-a-brave-newspaper-for-an-experiment-in-which-readers-become-stakeholders/