From: Money.CNN.com

With no time to stand still, digital technology and the World Wide Web have permanently altered the way newspapers and magazines do business. Ink-on-paper printing is alive and well, but the speed and interactivity of the Web can make print journalism appear sluggish and unsociable, causing consumers and advertisers to significantly shift their buying habits. Media companies like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation continue to scramble for strategic solutions that will keep “print” alive, and the results remain unclear.

Steve Ballmer predicted that in 10 years there would be “no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.” As the CEO of Microsoft, Ballmer has a substantial investment in the continued growth of digital journalism over traditional media, and the sea-change taking place in the industry does give his argument some weight.

The Tribune Co.’s new owner Sam Zell has instructed his publishers to reduce page counts for publications like the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times and reach a 50:50 ratio for advertising and editorial content. Some large publications, like the U.S. News & World Report, have shifted their content to focus on specific niches such as health or money, and have reduced their publication schedules.

Other papers are redesigning their look, perhaps moving from broadsheet to tabloid style, and every publication is looking to the Web to offset lost advertising dollars and keep their brands in view.

Our Point of View*

Print is not dead, not by a long shot. Print journalism, however, has no choice but to adapt and to embrace online digital media, especially in the US and Europe. The success or failure of the strategies that Murdoch and Zell have adopted remains to be seen, but there is no disputing the fact that “standing still” is the best way to accelerate diminishing returns.

From the CNN.Money article:

What’s clear is that for Zell and his lieutenants, standing still isn’t an option. As Tribune chief operating officer Randy Michaels said on a recent conference call after the company reported that publishing revenue was down 11%: “Frankly, this environment gives us every incentive to speed up the process a little bit, and get where we need to be a little bit quicker.”

There is no stopping the advance of digital media, even as the volume of ink-on-paper printed materials increases overall. Print technology is adapting to the shift toward digital media usage as well, allowing for more flexible formats and on-demand adjustments.

Steve Ballmer’s prediction that print journalism will be gone in 10 years is, to say the least, rather presumptuous. Digital media will never replace print – there are just too many advantages to the tangible, semi-permanent medium of ink-on-paper – but it certainly changes the way print is consumed.

Do you agree with Ballmer’s predictions regarding newspapers and magazines? Is print journalism really seeing its final days?

*The views expressed here are the individual views of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Xerox Corporation.