It seems to me the newspaper is a very efficient way for packaging information, plus it can appeal to the heart as well as the mind. Furthermore, I can think of nothing more tedious than reading through a daily electronic newspaper geared to meet only my narrow professional interests. The serendipity of the ordinary newspaper is important here, and I think it will take a long time for old habits to die hard. Perhaps I haven’t quite comprehended how much advertising, particularly classified advertising, could slip away from newspapers once these new communications technologies take hold. This is where we may see one of the primary economic foundations of the newspaper business rapidly eroded.
Predictor: Wood, Mark
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for The Scotsman, John Ivison quotes Mark Wood, the executive director and editor-in-chief of Reuters. Ivison writes:”Mark Wood, … of Reuters, surprised the British Chamber of Commerce conference in Aberdeen last month when he said that, rather than offering gleeful predictions of the demise of the newspaper business as electronic information takes over, he has always argued the exact opposite. ‘It seems to me the newspaper is a very efficient way for packaging information, plus it can appeal to the heart as well as the mind. Furthermore, I can think of nothing more tedious than reading through a daily electronic newspaper geared to meet only my narrow professional interests. The serendipity of the ordinary newspaper is important here, and I think it will take a long time for old habits to die hard.’ … He warned that it is more likely that the loss of advertisers, rather than readers, could prove decisive. ‘Perhaps I haven’t quite comprehended how much advertising, particularly classified advertising, could slip away from newspapers once these new communications technologies take hold. This is where we may see one of the primary economic foundations of the newspaper business rapidly eroded.'”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: Newspapers
Name of publication: The Scotsman
Title, headline, chapter name: Online to the Youth Culture
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 23
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney