What is the future of news and of newspapers? Will 2010 let journalists and traditional news publishers see a way out from the economically difficult situation they got themselves in? Will Murdoch be proven right? Find out in this MasterNewMedia guide.

Photo credit: Dima Lomachevsky

As 2009 is just behind our backs, we can stop cheering and start looking at reality again. And when it comes to traditional news, the future may not indeed look too bright.

Ed Strapagiel, executive vice president of Kubas Consultants, has recently polled 500 newspapers to analyze and forecast what newspapers were to expect in 2010. Give it a look. From the feedback received, 2010 does not look like the year in which newspapers are going to make their comeback.

But while, many of the news brands that brought us the headlines for years are frantically questioning their strategies and approaches, a small but growing number of smart and fast-acting news organization have started asking the right questions about the future of news throughout the last 12 months. I think that here at MasterNewMedia we are one of them, as throughout the past year we have been asking, reporting, selecting and publishing what I think are some of the important and key questions to ask
when it comes to the future of news:

• What are the key trends now shaping the online news media landscape?
• What does the future of news look like?
• What are the the new skills needed by successful online journalists?
• What's the best content publishing strategy newspapers could adopt?
• How does Jeff Jarvis see the future of the newspaper industry and its online business model?
• What do the most influential German bloggers suggest to do to understand the Internet in the 21st century?
• Is the aggregation of news sources a viable strategy for online newspapers?

If you are interested in picturing where the future of news is headed, here you have the best MasterNewMedia hand-picked roundup of answers, views and speculations to all of the questions above.

Future of Newspapers: The Best 2009 Articles And Reports From MasterNewMedia

Citizen Journalism: The Key Trend Shaping Online News Media - Introductory Guide With Videos

Citizen Journalism has put democracy back in people's hands. An army of individuals with mobile phones, portable cameras, and blogs is rapidly replacing traditional media as a reliable and wide-ranging source of information. In this milestone report, Chris Willis and Shayne Bowman were among the first to try to explain what citizen journalism really is and why this bottom-up distribution approach could be the future of news.

by Chris Willis and Shayne Bowman - May 27th, 2009

Future Of News: The Newsmaster Role As Seen By Gerd Leonhard, George Siemens And Nancy White

How important is going to be the role of the "newsmaster" in the future? Is this network middle layer of human filterers and scanners actually emerging? What about serious business talk: Could the newsmastering practice ever become a professionally sustainable role? And what is its value?

by Robin Good - August 13th, 2009

Online Journalism: New Skills For Passionate Online Journalists - Alan Murray

Right now, at the end of 2009, newspapers are buzzing around a report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations which states that the average weekday circulation of nearly 400 dailies in the US slid 10.6% from April to September, compared with a 7.1% decline during the previous six-month period.

by Alan Murray - October 28th, 2009

Online Newspapers Best Content Publishing Strategy: Free Or Paid?

What is best online publishing strategy for a struggling newspaper? Is it better to let online news content go out for free or to charge people to access it? The eternal Internet question is back and with a powerful sponsor behind it: Rupert Murdoch.

by Alan Murray - June 3rd, 2009

Newspaper Industry And Online Business Models: Jeff Jarvis On Why Newspapers Are Doomed To Fail. Quickly

The crack in the newspaper industry egg is very deep. The prospect that newspapers are doomed to fail is not anymore an hypothesis. The scarcity-based, top-down, mass-distribution business model adopted so far by the newspaper industry has no hope to survive or extend its agony in the new digital content distribution marketplace.

by Jeff Jarvis- April 22nd, 2009

The One-Minute Journalist Guide To Understanding The Internet

What is the future of journalism in the Internet age? What are the key new variables that make so difficult for traditional journalists to survive this paradigmatic shift? The Internet Manifesto, authored by some of the most influential German bloggers, is a one-stop "journalist guide" to understanding the Internet in the 21st century.

by Markus Beckedahl, Mercedes Bunz, Julius Endert, Johnny Haeusler, Thomas Knüwer, Sascha Lobo, Robin Meyer-Lucht, Wolfgang Michal, Stefan Niggemeier, Kathrin Passig, Janko Röttgers, Peter Schink, Mario Sixtus, Peter Stawowy, Fiete Stegers - November 11th, 2009

News Content: Newspapers Future Strategy May Be The Aggregation Of News Sources

Should news content be the result of the aggregating and selecting from many and varied sources or the word coming from one single perspective? John Blossom analyzes the future of newspapers and openly asks some hard questions in this fascinating and scary article.

by John Blossom - January 9th, 2009

Originally prepared by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia, and first published on January 3rd, 2010 as "Future of News: The Best 2009 Articles And Reports From MasterNewMedia".

Photo credits:
Online Newspapers Best Content Publishing Strategy: Free Or Paid? - ktsdesign
The One-Minute Journalist Guide To Understanding The Internet - Dmitry Margolin
Newspaper Industry And Online Business Models: Jeff Jarvis On Why Newspapers Are Doomed To Fail. Quickly - Bruce Parrott
News Content: Newspapers Future Strategy May Be The Aggregation Of News Sources - Paul Turner and Max Gladwell mashed up by Daniele Bazzano
Citizen Journalism: The Key Trend Shaping Online News Media - Introductory Guide With Videos - Paulino Figueirido
Future Of News: The Newsmaster Role As Seen By Gerd Leonhard, George Siemens And Nancy White - solarseven edited by Robin Good
Online Journalism: New Skills For Passionate Online Journalists - Alan Murray - Robin Good