"Is she talking about the future AGAIN?!"

I know I sound like a broken record, but as a newsie entering the market in the midst of a recession, I feel like it's important to anticipate where media is headed in the next five years or so.

The state of the economy right now is presenting this industry, as well as many others, to reexamine the way that we do things. It's an opportunity to weed out the inefficiencies within the industry and to find and hire only the best of the best, who will then create innovative ways to approach journalism that will enable the industry to prosper when the economy picks back up again.

As inspiring as that sounds, it scares me to death. I have to be the best of the best. Otherwise, I'll get thrown out with the rest of the garbage and tossed into a roiling economy.

So the more I'm able to foresee regarding the future of journalism, the more prepared I'll be when it's my turn to start coming up with answers to media's many problems.

Today's topic: the reality of an all-digital product.

I know what you're thinking.

"You can't take away my newspaper! I read it every morning. I carry it with me on the subway. If I can't hold the paper in my hands and leaf through it, I don't want anything to do with it."

The idea of going digital is definitely intimidating, even for the child of a generation that isn't used to a paper product. For years, I hung on to the perception that print would last forever because that's what was comfortable to me. But now, the odds have changed with the invention of one product: the iPhone.

I've talked about the importance of hyperlocal coverage and being the interactive hub for your community. Well, think about being able to access that interactivity at any time, in any place on a BlackBerry. All of a sudden, the possibilities of a digital product become endless.

Take the issue of convenience. Most people like print products because they're light and portable. You can whip out a newspaper on a subway or bus or even during gridlock traffic and absorb the news. Now with iPhones and BlackBerrys, we're talking about being able to have that same portability, only with even more convenience because you won't be elbowing your neighbor in the face trying to get to the business section.

But the convenience doesn't stop there.

Imagine the day when everyone has some sort of smart phone (and such a day isn't here yet, but it's just around the corner). Say you live in Small Town, Texas. Every day, you can use your phone (or personal computer or whatever) to listen to music, read the paper, email your coworkers, blog with your friends. Then, say you decide to vacation in Chicago for a change of scenery, but you've never been there before. Well, the minute your airplane touches down, you can use your phone to find restaurants, museums, theater listings, parks, attractions, anything within walking distance from your hotel. Lost? Your phone has a GPS system installed so that you can find your way back or stop in for a drink somewhere instead. The possibilities are absolutely endless.

There's the future of newspapers. We want to be the providers of all of that information. A one-stop shop. Instant gratification. A virtual guide to places and to people. We want to be your personal digital handbook to life.

Unfortunately, that future isn't here yet. Right now, only a small percentage of people find value in or can afford this kind of technology. But that percentage is growing every day. Until then, we're going to have to incur some costs without any immediate returns in order to be ready, which is probably the biggest challenge facing our industry today, especially in light of the recession.

Growing pains are necessary and inevitable, but who ever said they were easy? Newspapers aren't going anywhere. Not on my watch.