But Robert Thomson adds newspapers aren’t going away:

“Not in my lifetime. Newspapers will have to justify their existence, with energy, creativity and integrity, but ink on paper is a pleasure to read and is a convenient format. Each newspaper is customized by each of its readers – there has been much drivel talked about the Daily Me for the past decade or so. … Each reader reads the Times in a different way, and adjusts the time spent according to her or his taste in subjects.

This all from an Iwantmedia.com interview. Romenesko highlights the reasons why print isn’t going anywhere (too) soon.

Other points:

  • Says that though the steady income of subscriptions versus newstand buys is nice, but makes papers risk averse. "Being risk averse is not an option in the contemporary content environment."
  • Thomson tends to paint the print paper as great advertising for the web counterparts, especially with his paper's U.S. edition hitting more newstands.