In a report from regional newspaper publisher APN, Dr Tony O'Reilly, boss of Irish print media publisher Independent News and Media, rejected the Web as a -clumsy and overrated" publishing tool that was unable to sustain reader loyalty due to poor accessibility in regional areas.
-To browse the Internet is a misuse of the verb," O'Reilly was quoted as saying. -The slow and cumbersome Internet will play into the hands of the regional newspapers."
-Time challenged readers won't want to spend all day in front of a computer screen scanning the Net for news."
APN editor Greg Swain said O'Reilly's dismissal of any threat from Web media was echoed by most publishers of regional print dailies. Those dailies were more concerned about compliance with the new tax system than with competition from their online counterparts, he said.
-Regional dailies have always been under threat, but that's been more GST-related," Swain said.
