This brings us to a paradox, which seems to be central to this
transformational age. In the midst of this old media crisis, more
and more people are reading newspapers digitally and it is a global
audience for the best publications. Worldwide, printed newspapers,
with a reported circulation of 519 million, reach an estimated 2.3
billion people every day, 20 per cent more than the internet [15]. But
the ‘terms of trade’ are shifting remorselessly in favour of the web,
mobile, and newer interactive digital platforms. Many newspapers have
excellent websites offering rich, many-sided, multi-media content,including long-form features, investigative articles, and thoughtful
analysis. Several journalism schools round the world now take digital
journalism seriously. It still comes mostly free-to-air but some major
western newspapers have begun to price their digital content and some
new revenue streams have opened up. Mobile platforms and tablets
led by the iPad hold promise, with several newspapers and television
channels coming up with innovative and attractive apps. But all this
does not add up to a viable revenue and business model for digital
journalism. The internet advertising model is doing exceedingly well
but it is the search engines, above all Google, that take the lion’s share
of the revenue; the paid-content model is also well established on the
mobile platform, what with hundreds of millions of users accepting
‘monthly contracts, pre-paid phones, and paid-for apps’, but here too,
the new kids on the block, Apple and the mobile operators, take the
bulk of the revenue [15].