The Future Of Quality Journalism In The Digital Age

The Newsroom Barometer

Many months of speculation about the future of newspapers culminated in September 2006 with a front-page story by The Economist asking: “Who killed the newspaper?” To gain an insiders view of this morbid forecast, the World Editors Forum launched an initiative to probe those most concerned: editors-in-chief, deputy editors and senior news executives.

One may have thought them to be morose, discouraged and overwhelmed by the evolution of technology, but in the first Newsroom Barometer ever carried out, they proved to be just the opposite: 85% of senior news executives see a rosy future for their newspaper.

They accept competition from online sources and free papers, and in turn are making efforts to adapt to the 21st century readership.