Still in print ... for now

Today's Oz Media has a round-up of projections for the industry in 2005. The main piece by Mark Day looks at the legislative landscape and the likelihood of change, as well as a quick summary of the major players and their probable courses of action. This is packaged with five accompanying breakout pieces looking at the divisions of print, radio, magazines, digital TV, advertising and marketing. Only one of these is online.

In a piece headed "Not yet out of print", Errol Simper writes:

"... Newspapers will spend the year setting the majority of news agendas, just as they did last year. Radio producers, news directors and talkback hosts will continue to scan the papers every morning as bountiful providers of program content. Sometimes the newspapers will receive attribution, more often they won't. The executive producers of any number of television programs will, likewise, comb the papers for stories that can be moved on a metre or two and served up at 6pm."

This is not nearly as true as it once was. And don't forget print editors pay just as much attention to what stories are running on TV and radio.

I wonder if Simper has heard of Newsgator?

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the section, News advises Fairfax, via the wisdom of JP Morgan's media team, to go tabloid and reap millions. Who are these nameless "analysts", and what real value do they add to a debate about newspaper formats? I mean seriously.

The best minds in the business of newspaper design don't automatically favour the tabloid - it suits some markets and some papers, but not all. There are other design options to attract readers and maintain ad revenues.