Newspapers won't perish under cyber threat

While newspaper circulation shows a dip in the West, it is showing an upward trend in Asia

Hey, listen all those who have predicted the demise of print media. Newspapers are not going to be perished under the onslaught of Internet-powered media. Instead, global newspaper circulation is rising, mainly due to the demand in Asia and South America.According to officials at an international newspaper conference, circulation of paid newspapers rose 2.6 per cent worldwide in 2007, with the biggest jump in India and China.According to a report by the World Associated of Newspapers, China is now the largest market for newspapers with 107 million copies sold daily.The study also shows a slump in readership in the US and Europe, where traditional dailies struggle to survive amid free newspapers and web portals.Officials feel that the findings should be a cause of optimism about the industry."They say newspapers and print are dead. Well, I just don't see it," the association's president, Timothy Balding, said at the conference, which was attended by more than 1,800 publishers, editors and other senior newspapers executives at the three-day conference.Newspapers are doing brisk business in Asia, home to 74 of the world's 100 largest-selling dailies. But there's been a decline in readership in the West, with circulation falling three per cent in the US last year and 1.9 per cent in Europe.Over the last five years, circulation has been down eight per cent in the US. The report also said that while newspaper advertising revenue rose in all regions, it showed a downward trend in the US, where it fell three per cent last year.

Online ad revenue up
Internet advertising revenue worldwide increased 32 per cent.Research presented at the conference predicted an increasing shift from print to online media, with the editors are increasingly aware of the need to develop multimedia platforms in order to reach new audiences.People in the industry talk of "1-2-3 filing," which means presenting news alert headline first for breaking news, followed by a short present-tense story mainly for the web and broadcasters, and the third step being adding details and format stories in ways most appropriate for different news platforms.

Is online the emerging media?
A study by Associated Press showed that the news consumption patterns of young adults are different from that of the previous generations."People don't walk out to the driveway to collect their newspaper. They open their e-mail," Jim Kennedy, AP's director of strategic planning, said while presenting the study.The research project also showed that young adults face troubles over being flooded with facts and updates as well as in-depth reports.A worldwide survey of 704 newspaper editors by Zogby International and Reuters showed 44 per cent believed that most people would be reading their news online in 10 years, up from 41 per cent in a similar study last year.A survey of Nordic newspaper editors showed they see free newspapers as their main competitors, followed by the Internet.According to the report, free dailies account for nearly seven per cent of global newspaper circulation and 23 per cent of circulation in Europe.