Listening to Radio 4 during a very long drive on Saturday from Hampshire to Norfolk, I heard a fascinating piece on PM about the changing face of newspaper printing.
Everyone’s heard about the eventual demise of the printed newspaper, but there is an interesting online start-up called Newspaper Club that is seeking to reverse the trend by offering us the facility to produce print and distribute our personalised newspapers. One example quoted is that of an eight page local paper focussing on content from one specific postcode – the equivalent of 15 households.
I wonder what my local street’s version of “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster” would be…
At the same time Business Week is running a report about another set of internet entrepreneurs – this time in Berlin – who are breathing life into the venerable medium of newsprint. The concept is Niiu, a printed newspaper which can be customised by users by aggregating content from 17 different German and international newspapers. All you need to do is select your articles for print before 2pm on the day before delivery.
On the other hand, with the launch of Kindle in the UK, it looks like another front has opened in the war between paper and plastic. Despite my scepticism about the swapping my beloved paperback for a $259 gadget which you can’t use in the bath, it looks like its picking up momentum. Some people already think it’s going to grow faster than the iPhone.
