The fate of the printed press has been up for discussion since the inception of the Internet, and the number of voices warning of its demise has increased year after year as online news sources proliferate and the cost of paper goes up and the global economic crisis makes cost-cutting demands on publications. If the idea has taken hold in the West due to the large economic interests behind the World Wide Web and by the idea's conformity to the nature of western culture, then what is the situation in the Arab media world, especially in Saudi Arabia which has the fourth largest number of newspaper readers in the Arab world, and where there are 11 newspapers with a further two due to be established soon? Some of those working in media say it is too early to talk about competition. They say the Arab World in general and the Kingdom in particular is new to the Internet and electronic news sites. Others say newspapers will always be with us and will always have a place in society. Others, however, are pessimistic about the future of printed newspapers, particularly if methods are not changed. Three months ago the editor in chief of Elaph electronic newspaper Othman Al-Omair described printed journalism as “dead and waiting to be buried” because of the proliferation of competition, and said the press would have to face up to the challenges to survive. Writer Badr Kareem agrees to an extent. “The future of newspapers in the face of Internet news sources is doubtful,” Kareem said. Kareem cites a study by Dr. Fayez Bin Abdullah Al-Shihri showing that “more than half of those taking part in the study said they checked online dailies and were content with them.” Kareem says a study conducted in the United States in 2004 showed the American press witnessing setbacks in preceding years due to a decline in confidence. Dr. Ayman Habeeb disagrees with the Elaph editor in chief. “A similar issue was raised 100 years ago when the radio came on to the scene. Some journalists and newspaper owners in America felt the radio would threaten their existence, but in the end it was concluded that each medium has its own audience with its own characteristics, interests and reading habits that cannot be entirely translated to a completely different medium.” Habeeb adds that printed newspapers are affected by the advance of technology, but not necessarily by online newspapers, as the advancement of technology requires a change and renewal of methods in order to adapt. “Yet if printed magazines, for example, turned to online publications,” Habbeb says, “they might lose a lot of readers who find reading newspapers preferable. Studies in Europe and the United States have shown that people don't change their reading habits easily. The press industry is an advanced sector with press empires employing millions of people around the world. While the printed press will be affected, we can say that through a process of development and updating it will not die out and will still have a receptive audience.”
