Print media may be extinct in 2005: Publisher<\/p>\n
NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Roger F. Fidler, an internationally-
\nrecognized electronic publishing visionary from the United
\nStates, foresees the end of print media in about the year 2005.<\/p>\n
Fidler, director of the Knight-Ridder Information Design
\nLaboratory, told the 19th Asian Advertising Congress yesterday
\nthat in about 10 years from now the print media will be pushed
\nout of the market by electronic tablet publishing.<\/p>\n
He used a video presentation to show how, in his vision,
\npeople will be able to read mixed-media newspapers, magazines and
\nbooks on portable electronic tablets by the year 2005.<\/p>\n
\"The timing may be off a few years either way. But most
\nexecutives of computer and consumer electronics companies are
\nreasonably confident that portable information appliances
\nsuitable for displaying and interacting with digital print media
\nwill become ubiquitous in the next decade,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said his vision would be realized by the emergence of the
\nflat panel, a portable electronic display medium with the power
\nto extend and enhance newspapers and other forms of print media.<\/p>\n
The flat panel, now used widely in laptop computers, will be
\nmuch more than the display of portable computers; it will become
\nelectronic newspapers, he said.<\/p>\n
Fidler is not the first pundit to predict the death of
\nnewspapers.<\/p>\n
Futurologist Alvin Toffler declared in 1991 that the newspaper
\nbusiness was the last of the smokestack industries and was
\ndecrepit, dated and destined to die.<\/p>\n
Other analysts also have predicted an onslaught on the print
\nmedia from newer media, ranging from satellites and fax machines
\nto computers and cable TV.<\/p>\n
But in spite of the doomsaying, the newspaper industry, though
\nit has undergone intensive consolidation and through redesign and
\nbetter readership-targeting, has continued to grow, especially in
\nthe developing countries.<\/p>\n
Fidler himself qualified his prediction by acknowledging the
\nintegration of newspapers and printed words in public
\ninstitutional structures.<\/p>\n
\"Newspapers may actually be well-positioned to emerge stronger
\nthan ever in the next decade. But to do so they cannot remain as
\nthey are,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Fidler said that social, economic and environmental pressures
\nare already forcing newspaper executives to rethink the nature of
\nthe business and to consider alternative publishing.<\/p>\n
He argued that to be competitive with other media, new and
\nold, digital print media must ultimately combine the
\ninteractivity of personal computers and the compelling qualities
\nof television, without sacrificing the readability and ease of
\nusing paper.<\/p>\n
Fidler ruled out the possibility of total disappearance of
\nprinting presses and paper in the next century, but said they are
\ncertain to be used quite differently and much more sparingly than
\nthey are today.<\/p>\n
Initially, he said, electronic editions of newspapers,
\ndesigned for tablets, will complement printed editions. But the
\nsuperior economics and attributes of digital ink and silicon
\npaper will ultimately make total conversion to the new form of
\npublishing irresistible.<\/p>\n
Fidler predicted that portable information appliances will
\ncome to be sold in consumer electronics stores along with digital
\nTV sets, video compact disc players and Minicams.<\/p>\n
The flat-panel devices will not only be used for displaying
\ndigital editions of newspapers and books, he added: They will
\nalso be used by students and teachers to gain access to current
\neditions of interactive textbooks and course materials.<\/p>\n
Fidler said the flat panels can also be used as writing
\nclipboards, prompters and notepads for office memos and reports,
\nas well as for stock market transactions. (vin)<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/print-media-may-be-extinct-in-2005-publisher-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }