Is there a day in future when WSJ paper folds?

Scott Donaton, the editor of Advertising Age, asks such a question and presents some pretty good arguments as to why a traditional print newspaper — even one like The Wall Street Journal focused on business news –might one day stop printing altogether.

Donaton wrote, “I don’t have enough insight into The Journal’s economics to say when (or, with confidence, whether) the day will come when a print-to-digital conversion is economically feasible. Could be two years, could be 10. But most newspapers are faced with roughly the same dilemma: Print dollars are flat or down but still account for the bulk of revenue and profits. Digital is growing by double- or triple-digits, but off a relatively small base, and online advertising isn’t valued as highly as print. Even those who believe a digital takeover is inevitable don’t want to admit it because it puts their existing revenue streams at risk too soon, before they’ve built the ark that will carry them safely to a new business model.

“From that point of view, it seems batty to suggest that Dow Jones — despite its early aggressiveness and success on the web — should consider folding a 117-year-old print daily that has more than 2 million paid subscribers. But from a long-term, brand-centric perspective, it would be negligent for the committee not to crunch the numbers to determine when and if digital delivery will surpass the efficiencies of printing (at 17 U.S. plants) and distributing a paper product. The web has content as well as cost advantages, being a better tool for tracking stocks and breaking news.

“The Journal has a head start. It already has the largest paid-subscription news site on the web with more than 768,000 customers, and CEO Rich Zannino said a few months ago that he would reorganize the business ‘around markets rather than channels of distribution.'”

Read more here.