In 15 years time reading a hardcopy newspaper will seem as out of date as looking at a telegram.
Internet guru Clay Shirky said that in less than 50 years, hard copy newspapers will not exist at all. He said the reason was the 25 and younger age group. If you are that age and younger you do not look at news unless it is on your computer screen.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald that to put it in one bleak sentence, “no medium has ever survived the indifference of 25-year-olds."
Shirky has been writing about the internet since 1999 and has consulted for News Corp, Time Warner, and Hearst. He teaches new media at New York University, and in 2008 published his first book, Here Comes Everybody: How Change Happens When People Come Together.
He claimed that 2009 would be a bloodbath for newspapers which it was. Dozens of American newspapers closed last year, while several moved their entire operation online. He said that the business model of the traditional print newspaper, says Shirky, is doomed. Charging for online access will also fail.
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Nick Farell
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