Ross Dawson, a leading futurist, strategy advisor, and bestselling author predicts that newspapers in their present form will be irrelevant in Australia by 2022. He has published at his blog his reasoning for this prediction as well as predictions for other countries in his newspaper extinction timeline.
Dawson is well credentialed to write about these matters as he is Chairman of the Future Exploration think tank.
There is evidence in newspaper publisher activity indicating that they do not disagree with Dawson’s predictions.
As I have said here previously, it all comes down to the medium. As tablet computers and mobile phones become more ubiquitous, easier to use and have a lower cost, the new channel will replace the old. There is also the environmental issue which will be a key factor in change.
The best response from newsagents today is to ensure that our shops have the physical flexibility necessary to change with the times, to demand more control over our exposure to print media products and to make the most of print media sales opportunities in the short to medium term. Yes, there are good opportunities in our businesses if we are aggressive and tactical in our approach to handling magazines and newspapers.
oh well the world is meant to come to an end in 2012 anyway if we are going to believe in prediction
no one ever predict everything ‘spot on’