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I am going to suggest something scary. Not only is the internet not a threat to newspapers I would even say it will actually help improve both the newspaper and print industry as a whole. While some of the smaller community newspapers will take a while to catch up, due to the cost of producing online content, a lot of the larger scale newspapers such as The Boston Globe are going beyond just the print medium with blogs, video and podcasts on the day's news. As long as newspapers continue in this direction they should not have a problem. If anything they make more now than ever before.

Although there will also be a distinct challenge for newspapers who really need to make a profit. How much of the internet service will they actually charge for? How much will they print and how much will they put online? Will they even produce a print copy? The local newspaper in my area is a very interesting case and what could be a good example of the direction the newspaper business is going toward. This newspaper now works as a 24 hour news source continuously providing breaking news, providing audio of interviews and some times even City Council meetings and things of that nature. Up until this previous January it used to be that you had to pay to read pretty much everything beyond the first page of the newspaper. Now, in terms of reading the day's most important news and breaking stories, reading it all is free. But there is just one catch: In order to actually "read it all" and to get access to the archives and all of the classifieds, particularly those in the jobs section you have to be a subscriber to get it. It is referred to as Full Access. But it's not just print and photos you see on this particular newspaper and other newspapers across the country.

Video and podcasts are provided on just about anything and everything. For example, on the web site of the Boston Globe, you are able to read all of Sports Columnist Bob Ryan's blogs, plus you get to see him tee it off with some of the other sports writer's in the newsroom through video on certain issues of the day. The Globe also posts post game quotes from NESN when the game is broadcast on that station, which brings up another interesting subject. The idea of "convergence." While TV and newspapers were once thought of as competing against each other they are now increasingly working together to bring citizens the day's news. For an example of this, again I am going to my local paper. With the local paper, they put one computer attached to a server on one of the local news stations and they actually send their stories headlines to be broadcast on a ticker during the morning news broadcast.

However, with all of that said, there is still a need for the print newspaper. With today's rushed society people may not always have time to get to a newspaper for various reasons. They may not have a computer and a time to get to the local library for the day's news and some citizens still do not know how to use a computer. Or it may just simply be that they love the idea of a newspaper with that feeling of fresh print in their hand. Let's face it. Right now, along with advertising that is where newspapers make their money. So is the internet a threat? It all depends on how newspaper editors and publishers handle it. Based on the response so far the answer is a resounding NO.

Learn more about this author, Erich Heinlein.
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