Prompted by the gloomy Economist headline of September 2006, “Who killed the newspaper?” the Newsroom Barometer was designed to gain insights into newsroom strategies, and find out how editors see the future of journalism. The results were presented at a session of the 14th World Editors Forum by George Brock, president of the forum.

Overall, the editors embraced innovations in news distribution, with 79 percent viewing new media and digital news as a good thing, and 40 percent saying that, in their communities in ten years’ time, the most common way to read news would be online. About one-third found the arrival of free print newspapers a welcome addition, while 29 percent saw it as a threat.

The survey participants had also been asked what they would do in their newsrooms if they had to invest in editorial quality. A clear majority would train journalists in new media (37 percent), and the second thing they would do is invest in more opinion and analysis writers.

This emphasis on opinion and analysis was reflected in another question on what these pages will do in the future – 66 percent thought they would increase in importance.

The outlook for journalism was positive, with 51 percent of editors believing that the general quality of journalism will improve. Almost half (48 percent) believe that most print and online news will be free in the future.


By Oliver Brock and Judy Lelliott, Wits University Journalism