Johannesburg — THE notion that editors around the world fear new developments in media was tested this week with the release of the first Newsroom Barometer Survey, launched by the World Editors' Forum (WEF) and Reuters news agency.

The study was commissioned in September 2006 to explore the morose question posed on the front page of The Economist -- Who killed the newspaper?

"Eighty-five percent of senior news executives see a rosy future for their newspaper, and it's quite a surprise," says WEF director Bertrand Pecquerie.

The study shows that overall they accept competition from online sources and free papers, and are also willing to adapt to new readership demands. But there is still evidence of a split in how editors think news will be consumed in the next 10 years.

Four out of 10 of the 435 worldwide news heavyweights believe that online news will take over, while 35% say print will continue to "reign supreme".

Head of journalism at Wits University Anton Harber says while SA has enjoyed "immunity" from online developments because of limited accessibility, "when it does hit it will be quick and it will be hard".

"I think the study really reflects the enormous challenges that face journalism. In this country many editors are acutely aware of the changes and are preparing for them, while others act more like ostriches by burying their heads in the sand. Those that believe that print will reign supreme are probably the ostriches," he says.

Fifty-four percent of the respondents believe that shareholders and advertisers present threats to editorial independence, and Harber says this is also a threat in the local market.

"In the past few years the delicate balance between editorial and advertising has shifted. Advertising certainly has more clout."

Harber says a braver, longer-term view of newspapers' shareholding is needed to sustain the industry. The threat posed to newsrooms is that short-term shareholders will spur cost cutting that will be detrimental to newsroom quality, he says.

While 51% of survey respondents feel that journalism skills will improve, a quarter believe they will get worse, and the majority believe that training journalists in new media is the way forward.

"Editors-in-chief realise that content matters more than ever and cutting newsroom resources is not at all an effective solution. The reshaping of news will take place with journalists, rather than at their expense," says Pequerie.

"Many editors view news as a conversation with readers rather than a lecture from journalists," says Reuters' MD Monique Villa.

She believes this is borne out by the fact that two-thirds of the respondents think opinion and analysis pages will grow in importance, and adds that editors are aware that they "must change their content in order to survive and prosper".

Harber says newspapers have to understand that younger people will be consuming news in a different way.

Those catering to the bottom end are catering to a new market that has not had too many options when it comes to news, and those at the top end are sufficiently niched within a premium market to hold their ground, he says.

However, he says it will be those newspapers in the middle that rely on classified advertisements that will be worst hit by future developments -- especially those carrying free classified adverts.

Free newspapers are seen as a threat by three out of 10 survey respondents, while 34% view them as a "welcome addition".

Small newspapers are most likely to see free papers as a threat, perhaps because larger newspapers have more resources to ensure their content is top-notch, or to produce their own free papers.