From the loss of advertising revenue for newspapers to the emergence of a slew of multi-functional, deluxe e-readers, times are changing for the print industry - and they are doing so quickly.

So, what can we expect for the future of the printed word in the next couple years? Some media insiders spoke to CNN to offer some insight on what could be in store for newspapers.
Tablets, Newspapers, and e-Readers

Kurt Andersen, the American novelist and award-winning radio host, is not too optimistic about the future of printed news. "Anything remotely resembling news media is going to continue to migrate online until very little or none of it is produced on dead trees."

On the issue of funding journalism as it moves online, Anderson admits questions remain.

"What remains to be figured out is how it's paid for, and whether this whole system of enormous magazine and newspaper staffs can be reconfigured to be sustainable in this new age. I think we'll see content that's a deeper, better hybrid of audio, video, and print emerge, and that will become the default expectation of people."

Andersen exemplifies his idea for the future of printed news with the recent story about NBC's late-night talk show hosts.

"I want to read a complete story about the decisions, the facts and figures, and the background on the controversy, but I also, at the appropriate moment when I'm reading, want to press the button and see Jay Leno making fun of himself or David Letterman making fun of Jay Leno."

Devices such as the newly launched, iPad, could deliver such an experience the radio host is describing: combining the printed word (on a digital platform, of course) with multimedia content to offer an enhanced and more complete user experience.

For Katharine Weymouth publisher of the Washington Post and CEO of Washington Post Media, the iPad is all about user experience. She believes that what is "most exciting about tablets and the iPad in particular is the presentation." Weymouth believes the new kind of presentation Apple's tablet offers advertisers an opportunity to create better and more interactive ads.

The founder of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, believe tablets "can provide an opportunity to media companies because they could make it very easy for consumers."

He says that he subscribes to the New York Times on his Amazon Kindle and what he enjoys most of this subscription is the fact that it is waiting for him on the device every day. Wales adds that even though he knows the content is online for free - at least for now - but that it is all about "the package and delivery."

Besides its simplicity, he believes a new wave of e-readers could help newspapers make money by. "I'm giving money to the New York Times for the first time ever (I've never subscribed to the physical paper)."

Although much hope has been placed on the ability of a new generation of hi-tech e-readers to revamp the newspaper industry, current revenue-sharing agreements between newspapers and the leading e-reader in the market, the Kindle, are not beneficial for papers. Studies show that under the present agreement, newspapers receive only 30% of the money for subscriptions on the Kindle. The arrival of the iPad could change the rules of the game by forcing Amazon to reverse its unfavorable conditions to compete with Apple's tablet.

But, for Wales, it goes back to simplicity - and developments like the iTunes store and the Kindle store have helped make it easier for people to pay for content.

"Once we make it easy for people to buy, I do think we're going to see growth in the paid-content world."

Tablets are not the messiah

However, not all media experts are confident the iPad will be able to help magazines or newspapers.

American journalist and author of What Would Google Do?, Jeff Jarvis, believes the tablet is not the "digital messiah" magazines have been waiting for.

He believes the concept of the tablet is not innovative - because it is all about internet access, which is already provided by laptops, desktop computers, and iPhones. The fact that its main capability is already provided by other devices and that has not changed the state of the magazine or the newspaper industry shows the tablet will probably not make any difference.

Jarvis believes the optimism that surrounds the tablet has been misplaced. "The reason that I think there's so much desire for (the tablet), is that it is the last effort, the last hope that old media properties think that they have that there's something that will return control to them."

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, shares a similar position.

He warns those who are holding on to an old model by giving into the temptation of thinking the tablet will save the industry. "Existing companies think that people will read on a tablet in a way that they don't on a PC or phone, and that the tablet will let content providers charge for their product."

To think that the tablets will essentially be the new newspaper or the new book or magazine "is really dangerous."

Paywalls and business models

When it comes to paying for news, Steven Brill, founder of the American Lawyer magazine and Press+, an online payment system for news sites, believes erecting universal paywalls is not the answer.

Instead, he suggests a system pioneered by his start-up, Press+, which is a metered approach. He explains that after someone "has read five or 10 or 15 articles in a month, say, you start asking him to pay something for it."

Although Rupert Murdoch has announced that he will soon build paywalls around most of his newspapers, some, like Brill, do not believe it is the best approach. Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of Guardian, recently ruled out erecting a paywall around the online edition of his newspaper, but did leave the door open for paid-for specialized content. The publisher of Washington Post and CEO of Washington Post Media, Katharine Weymouth, has also said her newspaper has no plans to erect a paywall.