In 2007 and years to come, more and more of us will read our morning newspaper on a Web site before we read it on the printed page, a University of Alabama communication expert predicts.

The newspaper of the future will be more closely linked to an electronic Web site, predicts Dr. Bill Keller, assistant to the dean for journalism administration in the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences.

Keller says newspapers will continue providing reliable news that consumers want, whether in print or on a Web site, because they offer information sifted through the editing process – a process not found on blogs and some Web sites that purport to offer news.

“Publishers and editors know that they must find ways to continue to reach readers of the printed page as well as to attract readers who may read news only on the Internet,” Keller says.

Keller sees newspapers relying on tried-and-true processes to keep their audience for future generations.

“The editing process used to separate rumor from fact and to separate innuendo from an accurate charge provides newspapers their strongest asset,” he says.