Murdoch: 'Newspapers have wonderful future'

Newspapers have "a wonderful future" according to Rupert Murdoch, writing in the new Innovations in Newspapers 2009 World Report, an annual survey released by the Innovation International Media Consulting Group for the World Association of Newspapers.
Murdoch says in a preface to the report: "Our success will still depend on the bond of trust between readers and our content, not on how many platforms we use.
"This annual report demonstrates powerfully how newspapers around the world are being reinvented in the digital age. I believe newspapers have a wonderful future. As printed products and as newly empowered news brands that deliver great journalism across many platforms customized to the interests of readers."
But, Murdoch warns that complacency is the biggest threat to newspapers and that the real foe "is not competition from new technology, it is the complacency in our industry among people who have enjoyed monopolies, who have to compete for an audience they once took for granted, who don’t trust their audiences and who have not responded constructively to challenges from readers who no longer think editors are omnipotent oracles.
"If we earn the trust and loyalty of our readers, good newspapers, and their electronic siblings will become even stronger news brands. They may not always be thrown over the fence each morning but their impact will continue to resonate in the communities they serve," he says.
"Our role is to give our readers great journalism and great judgment. I am convinced circulation and readership will grow on web pages, through RSS feeds, in e-mails, on mobile devices and in printed newspapers."
The Innovations in Newspapers 2009 World Report and can be ordered through the WAN web site at www.wan-press.org/article18110.html or also in pdf and print format from the Innovations International Media Consulting Group at http://www.innovation-mediaconsulting.com/.
The annual report looks at major innovations and developments in the newspaper industry world-wide.
Story via Tom McGowran