No, I disagree. Strongly.

If you think it is presumptuous to think we are guaranteed electricity in the medium term, then let me retort that I think it is presumptuous to think that coal/oil are the only source of power. Clearly, they’re not.

And if the Internet were too fail because of lack of electricity, then actually that would be our smallest problem .

And out choices are not being reduced…the exact opposite, actually. Long Tail, anyone?

And research has proven that the more people get involved the MORE information they want – from all sources.

And you forget all those busy career men and women who WORK almost 24/7 – for whom a morning daily is the easiest and fastest way to skim the news.

AND all those men who simply can’t do their morning visits to the loo without a paper to read? Their plumbing seems to be different to ours!

The problem is that once you go online you do require one small system to be functioning: electricity. You might think something as simple as electricity (and water supply, and driving somewhere) are guaranteed in the medium term. Think again.

There are more than a few reasons electricity is not guaranteed, just one of them is the price of coal. As oil depletes, coal is increasingly becoming a substitute, and what do most of the world’s power stations consume? The price of coal has increased faster than the price of oil, and coal shortages are also imminent.
1 year ago oil was $76 (per barrel), coal was $59 (per ton). Today Oil is around $120, coal is $155 (last week it was $169).
Sure, there’s a lot of the stuff left, but there are also many hungry mouthes to feed, and the number of mouthes is growing alarmingly.

So let’s get back to the question – paper or internet news? The answer will depend on:
1) the number of online users currently as a percentage of the total (in the US and UK, and Korea, internet users are significant, in SA around 10% or less of the total)
2) the level of energy saving from that process

In my humble opinion, newspapers in South Africa will survive, and the internet will not. The reverse would be true in the U|SA, Kore and elsewhere, although these trends will only take affect once oil goes from $150 into the great beyond (or, when we’re in The Greatest Depression. With oil at $115 this might seem far-fetched. I hope it is, but logic tells me otherwise.

What we can safely assume is that our choices will decline drastically in future, and those industries that are well established now (market leaders) and also those with porven sustainability (this is linked to efficiency) will survive. In plain English, Coke will survive, Fanta, Pepsi, Spar Letta, Irn Bru and all the rest will disappear. It’s survival of the fittest at its cruellest.

Otherwise i have my igoogle home page set with news widgets .

As a newspaper journalist, this sort of post just depresses me. *sigh* American newspapers are floundering, I gather there’s some major retrenchments happening in British newspapers, and perhaps we’re the next to be hit. I’m sure the ruling party won’t miss us! *grin*

@amandzing
When I say newspapers, I mean those dailies that claim to deliver “news”. I actually enjoy the community newspapers, and I think they are going to go from strength to strength, mainly becasue they deliver highly relevant information to a very targetted audience. That is paradise for advertisers, which means revenue should always be strong. And, of course, the fact that they are free and delivered to my door also helps!

There is also little sign that a critical mass of thinkers are being developed for a vibrant public sphere (alas, the Mxit and MTV leaders of tomorrow)

The internet’s potential as a public sphere where debate and expression runs free is enormous. But it’s only the urban middle class who will benefit.

The Daily Sun will stay in business for a long time to come. The pace of economic transformation in SA is not sufficient to narrow the digital divide within our borders.

I’ll stick to my hard copy, but also make a daily trip online. Instant commenting is hard to resist!