It seems that Tom Brokaw has made an interesting prediction, that in 10 years, print newspapers will go the way of dinosaurs. That must be welcome news to Amazon's Kindle and other portable devices. And as we begin to get more and more environmentally friendly, the reduction of paper use must be a welcome relief.
As a fan of newspapers and magazines, I will find it hard to completely move away from the tactile feel of turning the news pages and cutting out coupons. And the ability to lighten my load of the paper, once read, from my briefcase to trashcan. And how many devices must I constantly carry - cellphone, PDA, and now reader. Plus all the unique chargers to keep these devices working. My briefcase is getting heavier just thinking about it. And the paper reduction now leads to more electronic consumption. Will global ecology efforts ever improve.
Yes, digital consumption continues to grow and the print media will no doubt be affected by this convergence. But we will always need content and journalists, no matter what the media they write to (cave walls, newspaper, electronic), is what we will always consume. Professional, intelligent, thoughtful content. This too is what the writers strike is all about. I just wonder ultimately what the device will look like to feed our reading passion.
