"The "End of Print" is a meme that has gained ascendency in an environment of disruptive change in the communication ecology. It's similar to the dot-com boom meme that bricks-and-mortar stores were doomed and would soon disappear. But fast-forward 10 years and you'll see that prophecy never came to pass. Stores with physical presences are still strong: Wal-Mart had the third most visited e-commerce website last Christmas and continues to lead retail sales by using stores and the website. Pets.com didn't work out as predicted, while brick-and-mortar pet stores continue to thrive. (However: Independent bookstores have been decimated by Amazon.com.)"
Print is certainly not dead but the web has done very well to supplant the need of those looking for information on their preferred medium. The Web is also much more adept at breaking news. While print may not be going away anytime soon, we will see gradual shift just like how music went from vinyl to cassette tapes to CDs and now to more portable non-physical format.
I find the Walmart analogy flawed to an extent. Walmart may be leading retail but its website helps a lot. Apple's retail strategy is also helping the company by leaps and bounds but its international online stores are successful as well.
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