The iPad and the Future

Many in the newspaper industry have been searching for a new technology to come along that could save the industry and bring it back to its once-thriving status. With the release of Apple's new iPad, many have proclaimed that salvation has arrived. However, some are critical of the praise, questioning if the iPad will truly reverse the current downturn.

Writing for the Online Journalism Review, Robert Niles points out that the iPad does include many improved features. It contains a larger screen than an iPod or iPhone, and claims to come equipped with a display better than that of a Kindle or other e-readers. He also contends that a few innovators within the business will find creative and successful ways to utilize the iPad. However, for the most part, Niles remains unconvinced, writing "people have been rejecting and, in increasing numbers, continue to reject paying for content offered by newspapers' newsrooms, in any medium."

How then, are newspapers to adapt to the 21st world? According to Niles, newspapers are failing simply because of their content, and to get back on track must follow a few simple steps. First, they must place a greater focus on technological savvy and specialization in hiring new employees. In his model, Niles projects that writers must specialize their reporting to narrower categories. This alone however, will not be enough. Ultimately, newspapers will have to drop their objective reporting for more colorful and pointed pieces.

Niles certainly has a valid and well-argued point. Media outlets such as Fox News have been extremely successful through subjective reporting and commentating and more and more people admit to obtaining their new from John Stewart. Perhaps newspaper's objective writing style and general content truly has lost the interest of readers within the 21st century. However, I believe that it is still too early to estimate the impact the iPad will or will not have on the industry. As its popularity increases, I'm certain that those innovators in the industry will find a way to successfully use the iPad and future technology to bring a breath of life back to the industry.