According to Sly Bailey, Trinity Mirror's CEO, publishers need to put digital media 'at the centre' of their businesses to survive the current economic downturn.

Digital media must be integrated into the business model Bailey told delegates at the Association of Online Publisher's (AOP) Digital Publishing Summit, stating that it is now a "must-have."

Bailey revealed that by 2011, digital revenues will represent a "substantial part" of Trinity Mirror's business. She went on to say "Businesses can no longer simply rely on a rising tide of digital growth. Building digital audiences is the right thing to do. Attracting millions of unique users to your digital brands is great. But if businesses can't convert those users into revenue and then into sustainable profits they will simply run out of cash. This is no time for vanity publishing. Our business models have to be sound and our investment plans have to be able to withstand short-term economic shock. I'm firmly of the belief that there will be casualties in the coming months."

Bailey also expects 2009 to be the crunch year for the industry, with falls in print circulations and traditional advertising revenues.

Bailey also said, "These [traditional] processes are an impediment to success in a multimedia world. To build a successful multimedia business and a digital business of scale we have to be prepared to rethink the entire publishing process."

Source: Journalism.co.uk