A terrific article from Instead by Stewart Pallester today regarding the impact of digital media on traditional media. Some great examples from  Jeffrey Cole, Director of the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School of Communication to support his point that traditional media may never completely disappear, but most will be “smaller business in the digital era.” 

As for newspapers, Cole uses the New York Times as an example. He says that 30% of the NYT’s budget is spent on its editorial department,  while 70% spent on printing and distribution costs.” Cole theorizes that the paper could still profit by being totally online because of the lack of printing and distribution costs.

Cole also believes that social networks are the “real deal” with 55% of the members of social communities saying that their online communities are as important as their offline communities.”