DATELINE—it’s the weekend. I realize most people are entitled to sleeping in on weekends. This may include the staff at Buffalo News and/or the semi-rural route driver that dumps my paper in the box each morning. Err…make that afternoon on weekends. Ok, a bit of an exaggeration, but weekend newspapers are noticeably later than weekday delivery, at least on my route.
Now, lest you think I’m just ripping on the fine people who handle logistics for Buffalo News, let’s switch gears here for a minute.
In college I had a professor whom I often refer back to. His name is Dr. Harry Sova. He was like a renaissance man when it came to communications. Film production, advertising, public relations, journalism—his CV had experience in them all. A logical choice to mentor budding communications students. He was a nice, personable guy, too. But anyway, Dr. Sova predicted the eventual demise of print papers when I took his course in early 2005. He predicted the demise of network TV news. He envisioned a world where news and entertainment were delivered to personal devices and on demand. Content would be customized to the interests and preferences of each user. (He even predicted the economy would turn sour and oil would spew in the Gulf…ok, ok, I’m joking.) Things that were on the horizon of communications in 2005 are becoming commonplace today.
Take the Amazon Kindle with 3G or the Sony Reader Daily Edition—you’ve got a personal device that can deliver newspaper content based on your preferences (and paid subscriptions!). Wireless delivery of newspapers may just be the future for a medium struggling to survive. It also eliminates a logistical nightmare. No more delivery trucks or private contractors. That saves major quantities of oil and pollution. Even though a lot gets recycled, a lot of newsprint ends up in the landfill. But in a digital world there are fewer reams of broadsheet rolling off the presses. Fewer print editions means fewer deilvery trucks. This could seriously cut supplies expenses for newsrooms that already operate on razor-thin margins. The only time I’d be griping about my morning paper not being on time is when the 3G or wireless goes down!
When you shop either Amazon’s newspaper store or Sony’s, you’ll see many newspapers signing on to eReader technology, but plenty more to go. Buffalo News has yet to offer an electronic edition. E-Books are in their infancy, but as the technology catches on, such a device may be just the savior for struggling newspapers. Slash material costs drastically, and keeping a newsroom online with editors, layout artists, reporters, etc. suddenly will be more affordable. Imagine content-rich newspapers where a click of a photo brings it to life with supplemental video and more. Current readers that utilize eInk may not be ready for such rich content delivery, but devices like the iPad are perfect...
The subsidizing effect of results-driven advertising will also need to be part of the equation, and this will pose its own challenges in a digital ink world.
Digital downloads of the daily news are only beginning to show their potential. However, in the near future I believe this medium may just become the answer for struggling newspapers. People will always be hungry for news and information. It’s a fact of our contemporary culture.
A lot of questions remain to be answered and for now I’ll keep reading my print copy. While I think I could (and will probably have to!) adapt to the eNews in time, there’s something about holding the broadsheet in my hands (and getting ink on my finger tips). Broadsheet works without batteries, and if I spill my breakfast on it, it’s no big deal. Regardless, digital newsprint delivery is going to evolve significantly in the not-so-distant future.
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