Electronic media, a new replacement?

The new electronic media, a new face, a new challenge..

As technology moves at lightning speed through publishing, electronic media will displace more and more printed media during the next 20 years, according to a study commissioned by the Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service (GAMIS) (Frenetter,1989).

The new technology will bring a whole change of genre and reading preferences to the public. Somehow, technology replacing the publication brings issues for both the users and the publisher as well, don’t you agree?

As we can see, all the digital forms of publication can be used and access by city people with the gadgets to used, but on the other hand we left out the rural areas. Lacking of gadgets and accessibility to internet in certain areas like this, causing them difficulty to enjoy the new technology forms as we do. Besides that, article from Frenette, mentioned that new technology face eventually enable publishers to do much of their own pre-press work; commercial imaging devices will be of graphic arts quality.
However, I personally think not all the reading materials need to be filled up with beautiful and special graphics to be attractive in a way, like what most publishers are doing now. Reading newspaper as instance, I would prefer the contents inside of the paper instead of the design of it.
Therefore I personally think, technology cannot be a replacement totally for normal printing media.

References:

A New Idea for Publishing- Smart Web ads could restore the balance between publishers, their audience, and advertisers. by, John Battele

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/14084/

access on: 05/06/07

New technology changing publishing- E-paper, instant magazine downloads and social publishing could herald the end of the newspaper or magazine as we know it by Helen Jones

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/03/13/2003352104