European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                In the future news but not on paper by David Shaw los Angeles times Twenty years from now give or take a decade you May gel your news each. Morning from a fancy machine a multimedia Home information appliance with a dazzling array of personalized interactive features All of which will be As easy to use As opening a newspaper and none of which will leave Ink on your hands. A this device one scientist Calls it a Quot know Bot knowledge robot a will probably be a hybrid of a. Sophisticated television set with a Large Flat screen and High Resolution picture and a High powered computer probably without a keyboard because you la operate it by touching the screen or talking directly to  know Bot will also Combine elements of an advanced fax machine videocassette recorder and High Speed Printer All fed by a fiber optic Cable that will provide two Way communication and enable you to receive several Hundred / a. Channels of information. A a a a a a a a a a a entertainment and in House shopping. A a does All this mean the end of the daily newspaper a As we be known it in this country for More than 200 years a. Yes. And no. A most experts in communications technology agree that some form of printed newspaper will survive Well into the next Century. But the traditional newspaper a Ink Ompa per delivered to your Home. Or to a news rack a will evolve Over several decades the experts say into a multifaceted information source incorporating new technologies and old functions. Newspapers wire services and broadcast networks will continue to be the primary gatherers of news for the foreseeable future but some time in the next couple of decades the newspaper probably will be delivered electronically to your Home where you can print All or part of it yourself. A Quot people that proclaim the death of the newspaper prematurely Are going to be surprised Quot says David. Bohrman executive producer of the Abc news interactive multimedia project. Quot there a something very comfortable about having something to hold a. The conventional newspaper is familiar foldable lightweight fully portable no batteries necessary cheap enough to lose or misplace without concern Ideal for wrapping garbage and possessed of an element of serendipity that has so far eluded creators of electronic newspaper prototypes. \ Quot a newspaper does a really Good Job of giving you a lot of information a says Walter Bender director of electronic publishing for the Media lab at the. Massachusetts Institute of technology. Although readers May be interested in Only a Small. Percentage of that information Quot its easy to get at that part Quot Bender says. A but one of the primary advantages of the. Newspaper of the future will be its individualization you will receive Only that Quot Small percentage Quot of the daily news that interests you if that s what you want and that news will be accompanied by other no news information also especially selected for you. The information appliance that will provide news in the future is Likely to be programmed by you to recognize and service individual interests. Your electronic newspaper May give prominent attention to a Story on a banking scandal in Tokyo or the next generation of communications technology. May leave not a global Village but a global vacuum. An earthquake in Guatemala it May have a Page 1 Story on a political development Irv your Hometown talk about trends in child care or Fly fishing report on freeway construction on your route to Woik summarize How your personal Stock Market investments Are performing and Tell you where the Best prices Are for  ies you need for your new diet. ,. To find All this information the device constantly would scan and update information from any published or broadcast source you designate. In time it will respond to verbal instructions allowing you to ask for such detail a As background information maps animated graphics moving pictures and music. When Iraq invaded Kuwait your information appliance might have suggested listening to a taped translation of one of Saddam Hussein s speeches. With the release from prison of african National Congress Leader Nelson Mandela it might have suggested Reading for historical perspective the Rev. Martin Luther King or s Quot letter  your information appliance will have your daily schedule it will know How much time you have for the news of most immediate interest a a a a a a a a a a to  your tailor made Quot front a  Many of today s Young t people accustomed to computer and television screens May prefer to read the Quot front Page Quot on their computer screens others will want it printed to read Over. Breakfast.  of or in addition to a 1 a a subscribing to a specific. Newspaper a Reader could have an electronic smorgasbord of a newspaper probably Magazine size in format. That electronic newspaper might include the weekly science Section from the new York times the daily style Section from the Washington Post restaurant reviews from the los Angeles times tests of new automobiles irom consumer reports. A a personalized electronic newspaper sounds Ideal to those who feel burdened by information overload. Totem trying to stay Well informed those Days is like trying to take a sip of water from a ruptured fire hydrant. They Are thrilled by the idea of a newspaper that would Tiller. And sort information not just produce and present it. But even Many people working to create such a newspaper worry about its Long term social. Consequences won t a personalized electronic newspaper carry primarily Short stories devoid of the. Context and background essential to a truly informed citizenry. It. What if people read Little news and use their information appliances primarily to keep up with their favorite a baseball team order tickets to Rock concerts and watch Quot Hacker knows Best Quot or some other 21st-Century equivalent of the old time situation comedies ? newspaper readership and voter turnout have both declined precipitously in recent years might the Opportunity for personalized cum trivialized Quot news Quot accelerate the trend toward passivity indifference and ignorance or might newspaper readership and voting  exclusively activities for the elite in our society in the years to come and what of our sense of. Community. Almost 25 years ago Marshall Mcluhan spoke of communications technology that would link everyone across state and National boundaries creating one vast global Village. But the next generation of communications technology a custom tailored personalized technology a May leave not a global Village but a global vacuum. And a global cacophony Quot the thing that creates a society is a certain amount of commonality that can be presupposed As part of a background across that whole subculture Quot says John continued on Page 16 the stars and stripes a Page 15