One of the joys of living in Ireland is the Irish Times. It doesn't reflect my politics but given that its main opposition is infinitely less sympathetic I can certainly put up with that.
I declare an interest in that occasionally, very occasionally, I write for the paper. That plays no part in my admiration for it, however.
It is an old-fashioned paper and I mean that as a compliment. It is comfortable, courteous, intelligent and readable. The Saturday issue is a particular joy.
As with all newspapers, it is finding current conditions challenging. Its last audited print sale, the average across 2011, was 96,450 copies a day, down 6.2% on the year before.
Its real problem, however, is revenue. In a country suffering from deep economic woes that's unsurprising.
And then there is the rise of the internet. That's making slower progress than in Britain, partly due to the patchy spread of broadband, but it is well on its way.
And it is the future, as the Irish Times's online editor, Hugh Linehan, said yesterday during a seminar at Limerick university on the future of journalism. "Print will die," he said.
Well, he didn't say it quite as baldly as that, so here's his full quote:
"My favourite line about this, if you're familiar with the movie Spinal Tap, is the point where the manager is asked why the band's most recent album didn't sell... 'it's just that their appeal is becoming more selective.' And, in a way, that is one of the things that is happening in newspapers.
Our appeal is becoming more selective in print, and let me be really frank and lay my cards on the table: I think print will die.
It may retain a place in people's affections in the same way as vinyl does for a certain niche in the music industry.
There may be certain types of high-end products closer to magazines than to newspapers that will continue in the future.
But anybody who subscribes to really quality products on tablet and iPad will be aware that a lot of things people say print does best, those are on borrowed time."
It is the way of the world, the digital world, in Ireland and everywhere, in the very near future.
