Well, based on a recent study just completed by the USC Annenberg Centre for the Digital Future, most US newspapers will not be available in printed form by 2016 .Even in Ireland virtually every newspaper has its own “online” edition and the answer is simple. We spend more time using digital technology to access information and news already and our lifestyles also have changed with access to information and communication available 24/7 with the emphasis on instantaneous availability.

The report discussed whether America had hit the "digital turning point" and went on to examine the function of new digital technologies in American politics, media, communication and lifestyle in the States in general.

Some key points from the report included:

- Print circulation continues to drop resulting in newspapers ceasing print operations

- Size is a deciding factor

- Papers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today could still continue to print due to their readership numbers

- Local weeklies with low overheads and dedicated readers could also keep their printed editions.

The emphasis seems to be a mix of cost (dropping circulation), instant news, and a trend that  many of us can’t see yet, a “blurring” of the separation been private leisure and working time. In other words we are becoming accountable and accessible for work all the time now!

Other key factors that emerged from the report was that although Americans receive information from social media like Facebook and Twitter, many people consider this to be unreliable and untrustworthy. I think that the same would apply here.

So it boils down to the fact that people still want “trustworthy” sources of information which is verified and published from trusted sources.

Journalists will still be needed, that’s a fact! The only real difference will be that in a few years time most, if not all, of their work will be online.

http://www.digitalcenter.org/pages/current_report.asp?intGlobalId=19

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