… a prediction.

Here’s an excerpt from a report about a study by the Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization (PRIMIR) released recently (my emphasis supplied). It has a tone that I find appealling — and credible:  

By 2020, the report predicts that circulation for daily newspapers will have eroded by 26%, and Sunday circulations will have declined by about 40%.  Companies servicing the newspaper business can expect an industry likely to be a third smaller in revenue and about half the size it currently is, in terms of volume of materials consumed.

Newspapers themselves will look slightly different from those of today as well.  Readers most likely will be buying newspapers that are smaller in size and have fewer pages.  The quality of printing, not to mention the paper, may be more upscale than current iterations, however. Meanwhile, coverage may lean more toward local news than ever before.  One publisher predicts that premium journalists will be “fighting like crazy” to snare the big stories, “but people will be interested in the small, local and relevant features.”  The industry is already expressing interest in more niche and versioned editions to truly serve the local markets.  And, that spells continued opportunity for printing-and digital printing.