I think that in the next five to ten years, a lot of our mainstream print newspapers and magazines will start to die off, and will slowly be replaced with their online counterparts. Websites are easier to maintain, and cheaper to run, with online advertising making it possible to not only stay alive, but to actually increase profit margins. You have to adapt to the times these days, or else you'll just get left behind.

I'm sure that there will still be specialty prints out there for a long time yet, for those enthusiasts that still want the feel of paper, but as the kids today get older and tablets get to be more common, they will dwindle over time and be one of those memories that we tell our grandchildren.. "Back in my day, we got our news on sheets of paper.. those were the good old days."

The transition from print to online is not as smooth and as simple as you think. Once a newspaper is online and ceases to be printed then it is effectively in direct competition with countless other online news and media websites. This is why I have previously made references to foreign and alternative media sources. The high status of newspapers in Britain today is a result of their widespread availability; lack of direct competition from foreign and alternative print media in retail outlets; and their long standing reputation as most titles have existed before most people were even born. If newspapers go online then it is highly likely that they will suffer a similar fate as television channels have. The BBC is generally seen as a prominent national institution by the older generation who remembers watching it in the 405 line era. It has a good name and reputation with such people. To most 10 year olds who have known nothing but a multi-channel world it is just one of many broadcasters. The Daily Telegraph and Guardian could end up in the same situation once the printing presses are switched off.



I'm wondering how long the Morning Star will remain in print.

There must be some communities of people out there who are on the wrong side of the digital divide and will continue to buy print media as a result. Are communists one of them?