Garcia-Media and Mario Garcia, one of the best-known and best newspaper designers on the planet, recently released an interesting white paper about the international move from the broadsheet to the tabloid size and smaller (http://garcia-media.com/files/GM_whitepaper.pdf).
Garcia points out that in 1999 he predicted an 8.5x11 (or a European A4 size) by 2020. Now he says it will happen much sooner. I agree, but I also predict that as the marriage of the home computer and the television gets closer (and, hey, how about digital paper?), we will see that A4 size, but in landscape or horizontal format. It is much closer to the orientation of monitors. That way media outlets can create information packages for any of the above without having to radically change formats. People will become habituated to the horizontal display of all media, but especially news media.
While I am in the predicting mood, I also think that when we get a digital newspaper, it will become even smaller and perform the function that TV Guide does for television. The newspaper will tease -- and connect -- to fuller coverage on your plasma, high-def, wall-mounted computervision (computer-television) in an on-demand mode. The newspaper will be a reference to help you find what you want easily, not a first-line medium, as it is now.
If it happens, I won't be happy, but at least I won't have to clean up inky fingerprints from my kitchen table, doors, walls, clothes, etc. Electrons leave little behind. . . .
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