Print Will Never be “Dead” but the Ole Rag Ain’t what She Use to Be

Oh no, Gentle Reader, the death of print will, thankfully, never be the case. There will always be a need for print media. That being said the newspaper industry is in for some hard times. E-readers are going to be the next BIG thing. If it is a Kindle, a Nook, a Sony, an iPad (which is a step towards the obsolescence of magazines too) or one of these puppies; the Kobo (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/150-kobo-ereader-the-real-kindle-killer?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29). When I read about the Kobo I thought of filling my Christmas list with at least 3 (possibly 4) of ‘em. FINALLY an e-reader that is multiple platforms instead of just what Amazon is selling. The $150.00 price tag – HALF the price of a Kindle is nothing to sneeze at either.

Any way… getting back to print… This very evening while shopping at my local Shoprite I ran into two attractive middle-aged women who were trying to see subscriptions to the Atlantic City Press. “Would you like to have a subscription to The Atlantic City Press and receive a $10.00 coupon good for shopping here?”

“I’m sorry, I’m illiterate.” I lied.

“No you’re not.” She said. But it was too late; I had already started to put my junk onto the self-check out isle (I LOVE to avoid the contact of human cashiers).

They asked the next guy they saw. After hearing the question he said, “Why would I buy the paper when I have the internet?”

BAM! The game was up. That guy was right. If I wasn’t loading my groceries or have just lied to one of the quasi-attractive ladies selling the Press I would have asked the same question. Of course I would have followed it up by asking them when is the Atlantic City Press going to offer a viable digital delivery? Seriously. Just why would one purchase a newspaper these days – for the coupons?

NO. The gentleman in question answered the ladies inquiries by saying, “I can just print ‘em out.” He said goodbye to the ladies by wishing them a nice day but the truth was still hanging in the air. The newspaper business is dying. Do a search for the New York Times and it’s struggles to remain viable in an instantaneous world and you’ll begin to see the scope of this latest revolution. Oh well. Learn to use new technologies or let them put you out of business. That is the reality of the newspaper world. It was true for the record industry, the movie industry and it is true for ANY other media industry – Change or Die.

Seriously.

Right now, at this moment in the twenty-first century, the only thing holding back a BANGIN’ e-reader are the copyright holders.

Seriously.

I myself can’t wait for the day that YOU, Gentle Reader, will be able to download your favorite blogs to your e-reader. Kindle is experimenting with it now but it is only a matter of time before it is industry wide. Printing will be in the hands of the people – talk about your “freedom of the press!” The big boys (publishers) will have to adapt or die.

Seriously.

Here’s hopin’ that Chicken Scratch will be on your reading list.