As reported by MediaPost, during a panel discussion hosted by the Society of Editors in England last week, editor Alan Rusbridger of the Daily Guardian predicted that daily newspapers would lose 100% of their revenue from classified advertising by 2020. With dailies losing print advertising at an average annual decline of 9% and web advertising growing at roughly 50% annually, it’s inevitable that dailies will look very different 14 years from now, if they even exist at all. As the MediaPost article further elaborates, Gary Kromer, director of research for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, believes that the 2020 estimate might even be conservative. There is no question that with the rapid erosion of advertising triggering headcount reductions in the newsroom, which further depletes a deteriorating readership, the complete unraveling of the entire business model could conceivably occur much sooner.

Tags: Death of Newspapers, Daily Newspapers, Classified Advertising, Recruitment Advertising, Daily Guardian, Fort-Worth Star Telegram, MediaPost