Anyone who follows the print news industry knows that newspaper publishers all over the world are experiencing tough times with 
decreased subscription rates and falling ad revenue. Many publishers have already gotten their feet wet in the digital world by maintaining limited on-line versions of their papers, but with the Apple iPad now upon us the question becomes, will digital publishing be the death of the traditional newspaper? Some experts believe it will.
Unlike books and magazines, which have never really taken off in the digital world, hard news has been very well received. Reading a novel is an experience to be savored; reading the news is just the absorption of information.
Books will probably never die because the experience of settling down and reading one makes it worth it. But newspapers are merely a delivery format of information. What the iPad and other similar devices have done is create a whole new format which fits nicely with the modern generation. A generation that would rather gets its information digitally than in print.
Regardless of what the delivery format is however, newspaper publishers can’t escape the most critical issue: content. The reason many mainstream publishers are losing subscribers is because consumers are no longer interested in their content. By contrast, the “alternate media” is booming because they are providing what people want. At the end of the day the newspaper industry may change format, but survival depends on figuring out what readers want and giving it to them. iPad or otherwise.
