What is the future of printed media? Are we heading towards the disappearance of the traditional newspapers or a re-birth of the printed media through the digital world by the use of technology ? Francis Gurry, head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, seemed to have a clear answer this week (Oct. 3), stating that "In a few years, there will no longer be printed newspapers as we know it today."  

Gurry continued, "It's an evolution. There's no good or bad about it. There are studies showing that they will disappear by 2040. In the United States, it will end in 2017," adding that in the United States there are already more digital copies of newspapers sold than paper ones, and bookshops are decreasing in cities. Gurry cited revenue as the central issue, asking "How can editors find revenues to pay those who write these articles?" and noting that "the copyright system must be safeguarded as a mechanism to pay these writers."

Already last year, the New York Times reported a 9% decline in average weekday circulation, no doubt as a result of a changing culture influenced by the advent of the Ipad, Wikileaks, Twitter and Facebook.