Two factors are very quickly taking the paper out of newspaper.
One should be familiar to you – more readers want their news online, when they want it, not just when the publication arrives at their door.
Another isn’t getting as much attention – newsprint prices are skyrocketing, even though less is being used in the U.S. as your local newspaper is certainly thinner than ever (the experts say U.S. demand peaked 20 years ago). But, European demand is at an all-time high. Newspapers are hot over there, particularly in Eastern Europe, where a free press is starting to become something of a regularity. It is making a challenging situation worse for print publications here.
We have a new example in the county where Tanner Friedman is based. The Oakland Business Review is about to go online only. Except this to be the beginning of a wave.
We hope it will let more stories be told, with the online platform’s capacity to hold more news. We also hope the strong outlets, committed to telling important stories, will be able to make money online and not slide toward extinction.