Electronic News: Back to the Future in 1981

28 Years Later, Online News is Leading the Way

In this archival footage from a San Francisco news station in 1981, a reporter describes how the SF Chronicle editors and reporters are experimenting with a new way to publish and receive news, through a home computer.

The last line in the tv report states, “It takes over 2 hours to receive the entire text of the newspaper over the phone and with an hourly use charge of $5, the new telepaper won’t be much competition for the 20 cent street edition.”

It is amazing how times have changed. Now the cost of publishing a print newspaper has exceeded that of an online paper. The cost comparison has reversed with print now much more expensive and time consuming.

The reporter goes on to state, that in 1981, there are 2,000 to 3,000 home computer users in the Bay Area. With some experts estimating that nearly 2 out of 3 households now have at least one personal computer it seems PC ownership is nearly ubiquitous. Recent figures estimate that nearly one billion people world-wide have access to the internet.

In the report they mention that the electronic news will include everything except pictures, ads and comics. Now readers of online news can experience photos, engaging flash ads, webcomics and even audio and video. It’s rather comical to look back 28 years and see where technology was and flash back to the future and see how far technology has gone.

After seeing this video I felt it was a fitting intro to the re-launch of the RanchoCordovaPost.com. Today we are launching our newest design. We’ll call it The Rancho Cordova Post 3.0, as this is our second major redesign in as many years.

Some of the elements are still a work in progress, but we felt the design was far enough along to share with you and get your feedback and opinion. Love it! Hate it! Let us know in the comments as we continue to refine the design and theme elements to provide an even better reading experience.

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Posted by Geoffrey Sakala on Feb 2 2009. Filed under Viewpoints. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.