Printed media has a future as providers of unique quality and niche content, Google’s Brin and Page said at the Davos World Economic Forum. With this, they offer a more optimistic view than that of the industry itself, which sees ad revenue disappear to new web companies, not in the least to Google and its many free online products itself.

But how to generate new revenue then? This was a question they couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. People are still looking for exactly the right content on the subjects they’re interested in, it seems, and they’re even willing to pay for it. Other than that, the Google boys remained vague about alternative revenue tactics the traditional media might apply. That’s only to be expected of course. If Google has a great idea, it will use it or sell it, or even sit on it rather than publicly offer it for grabs; any company would do the same.

This is good news for traditional media and it might even re-enforce their ideas that all is not yet lost. The rise of free newspapers, even those that aim to offer quality content like Dutch DePers, seems only to have begun.

One caveat was offered by Page and Brin though: access and subscription should be easy. I don’t pay for the Wall Street Journal because it’s a hassle, Page added jokingly, not because I’m worried about the money.

Source: IHT