Online Media: Is It Taking Over?

According to Clay Shirky, an American writer, the publishing industry is going to become extinct in the very near future.
He outlines his thoughts in the article Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable.

After newspapers die, readers will receive news online written by "excitable 14 year olds" rather than trained journalists.

Getting news online isn't a problem. Getting news from a potentially uninformed 14 year old is.

But there is hope yet for print journalists! We're not completely S.O.L.

"A lot of people still love the actual physical act of flipping through pages. They still hold that dear," said Kim Shiffman, senior editor of PROFIT.
Shiffman edits an online publication that posts reports and data. But she said that print is the vehicle for long-form storytelling. "It doesn't seem like people like to read that kind of thing online."

"As a reader, I like to hold things in my hand," said Megan Griffith-Greene, editor of Chatelain and Shameless magazines. On the weekend, Griffith-Greene likes to read the paper, but during the week, she gets her news online.

So, yes, the week-day newspaper is dead. During the week, everything will be online. It is fast and easy to access.
But, it is likely there will be a weekend newspaper. It’s part of a relaxing weekend morning for most people.

Shirky is right. We don't need news on paper, but we do need journalists. Journalists will survive. Newspapers won't.