Mark Potts of RecoveringJournalist.com believes the newspaper industry will soon be a thing of the past. ()

In the next five years, the newspaper industry will be dead. Don’t believe that? Just ask Mark Potts of RecoveringJournalist.com. As a former reporter for newspapers such as The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune, Potts knows a thing or two about how technology is shaping the future of the news media. “We are going to see newspapers start to die in the next few months,” said Potts, “and by 2012 there will be a radical change in how we get our media.”
The future transition into what Potts calls “New News” – an online newspaper without the paper – should come as no surprise to anyone who is aware of the current state of our economy.
“Many newspapers are saddled with enormous debt right now because they bought other papers [that are no longer worth as much],” said Potts. This is especially true in the case of The New York Times, which in 1994 purchased The Boston Globe for $1.1 billion. The Globe is now believed to be valued at $20 million.
Due to the declining economy, many newspapers have been shutting down. George Mason University junior Kenny Roden said he cannot imagine living in a world without newspapers. “It would be surreal,” Roden said. “To wake up on a Sunday morning and not see my dad reading The Post is something I can not imagine.”
Potts, on the other hand, seems to think the initial shock of not having a newspaper would wear off quickly. “I submit that a year or so after a newspaper dies you really won’t miss it,” he said. Potts explained that the generations who rely on newspapers to get their news will soon no longer be in control. “[College students] are the generation that gets to decide how things will get done,” Potts said.
“New News,” according to Potts, should focus on local stories and community details that no other news medium can pick up on. “It will get down to the stuff that nobody else covers, like local school board elections, the mayor, why the stoplight doesn’t work on that street corner,” said Potts. “This news will no longer be a one-way lecture, but a combination of user generated content, aggregation, links, etc.”
The “New-News” format, as Potts describes it, is already being used on the Internet today. Many people get their news from their favorite daily blogs, which link them to news websites for the full story. Others use message boards on community forums to find out about local events and activities that aren’t covered by the media.
Thomas Alter, a college student and avid blog reader, finds out about events in Fairfax, Va. through a forum called FairfaxUnderground.com. “It’s a cool site because you can find out information that doesn’t always make the news, like why there were so many cop cars outside of the Burke Wendy’s at 2 a.m. last night,” Alter said.
It just may be that Potts is right when it comes to this transition into interactive online news – it might not be as big of a deal as many would think. “The way we consume media in five years will be completely different than the way we consume it now,” Potts said. Already, many people get their news through sources other than newspapers.
When asked if Roden ever reads the paper with his father on Sunday mornings, he replied, “Oh, no. I check my Blackberry for any news I need.” Point taken, Potts.