A hArd-hitting - Plantin

“We can turn children into
readers on paper by taking
them seriously as readers,
captivating them with
exciting, well-researched
stories, and challenging
them once in a while.”
martin verg, editor-in-chief of children’s magazine GEOlino
opportunities
them with exciting, well-researched stories, and challenging
them once in a while. In that way, we can perhaps hope print
becomes natural to them and that they may even go on to become
newspaper readers.
Do you think the printing crisis will worsen further?
Thorsten Lorenz: I think we have reached the lowest point
and I don’t see any risks overall for the print sector. Certainly, the
remits of the online and print sectors will continue to change.
But once publishers implement a pay model for their information –
and they are working hard to achieve this – the print edition will
once again become an interesting alternative.
Ingrid Thoms-Hoffmann: I also firmly believe there will still
be print media in ten years’ time. However, newspaper publishers
need to act faster and with greater flexibility. They must also respond
to new or changing needs of readers. I also think newspapers have
to cater more effectively to a young audience by – perhaps as we
are doing at the newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung – publishing a daily
children’s page or a regular page for students, thereby strengthening
reader loyalty in these age groups too.
Martin Verg: I’m not particularly worried about the future
of print either. One thing that is certain is that a lot is still set to
change. For example, media users will be able to get even more
news or other information on the Internet using a computer or
cell phone. But for the future I feel that for opinion, comment,
and background information, for simply sitting back and getting
immersed in a topic, only print has what it takes. n
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