February Lunch Recap: The Future of the Newspaper

By Brian Hamman
brian.d.hamman@centurylink.com

Payson Gaddis packed the house at February's FPRA luncheon.  He discussed the future of the newspaper business in front of a crowd that included several publishers who were visiting from up north. 

Gaddis says within 5 years most daily papers will only print once a week.  He believes they'll continue to publish local content daily, but it will only be available online.

Gaddis says at some point obituaries, stocks, TV listings, comics and classifieds will all be dropped from the local papers.  Many of those "old stand-by's" are already being replaced by more popular and efficient applications online.

But the "game changer" is the tablet according to Gaddis.  He says because you can recline and read, people will spend more time consuming content online.

What will the technological evolution mean to your wallet?  Well, enjoy today's free online news while you can, Gaddis says, in the future you'll have to pay for it.