Just waiting for the wave

Starting from the premise:

If there are any folks in the newspaper industry who have notions still that they'll adapt the print product to attract some of my daughter's generation, or those in their 20s, and probably 30s, too, I'd say your chances for success are practically nil. As a long-time newspaper guy, I think the chances of my two daughters reading a print edition as they grow older are close to zero.

... Editor & Publisher columnist Steve Outing sought some opinions on what media will be like in five to 10 years and what it might mean for newspapers.

It's a good read, whether you agree with their independent assessments or not. Here's one sampling ...

It's going to get really interesting. The sea change that newspaper companies have been dealing with over the past few years will continue to accelerate at a pace that will surprise even the most forward thinking. It'll cut across all media -- not just newspapers -- but the rapid change and blending of all media online is now happening fast and furiously.

-- Brad Feld, VC

Even if these bright people are off the mark by, say, five years, the changes foreseen require a realignment of capital and human resources on the order of the industrial revolution.

The funny thing is the answers (and even Outing's premise) implicitly suggest the change has already occurred -- the raised-on-PC generation has already shifted -- and the business economy has yet to just reflect the change. That portends an almost tsunami wave of disruption as teens become adults. The surf seems unusually rough today.

Tags: newspapers | online media | interactive media