GeekWire has an interesting look back at a debate on CompuServe in 1993 about the future of journalism. This piqued my interest as a journalist, and as someone who loves looking back at computer history.

The members of CompuServe’s JForum made predictions about the form factors of future news delivery devices that were accurately fulfilled by today’s iPad and iPhone.

But then there’s stuff like this:

Just wait until AT&T and the major networks and the movie studios and two or three radio networks and computer companies and the government all start seriously exploring the technology. Not to mention the number of years it will take to standardize the equipment. All the competition for information control (NOT dissemination) will slow the death of newspapers if it comes to that.

Of couse these pundits had no way of forseeing disruptors like Craigslist who would innovate — and eat away at newspapers’ profits.

@online{renaud2013the,
  author       = {Josh Renaud},
  title        = {The future of news, as predicted in 1993},
  year         = {2013},
  month        = may,
  organization = {Break Into Chat},
  url          = {https://breakintochat.com/blog/2013/05/30/the-future-of-news-as-predicted-in-1993/},
  urldate      = {}
}

{{cite web |last=Renaud |first=Josh |title=The future of news, as predicted in 1993 |website=Break Into Chat |url=https://breakintochat.com/blog/2013/05/30/the-future-of-news-as-predicted-in-1993/ |date=2013-05-30 |access-date=}}