At Publishing Expo in London last week there was a rather ambitiously titled debate on “The Future of Publishing”. The star turns were Tim Brooks of The Guardian and Stevie Spring of Future. James Hanbury of Incisive was also there, but had few chances to contribute against his more voluble peers. Aside from the enjoyable banter, of which the most memorable soundbite was Stevie referring to the Guardian as “vanity publishing”, there were some interesting observations about the next step for print publishers. The overall mood was upbeat, with all panellists relishing the challenge ahead, but in full knowledge that print will be a far smaller part of the overall mix in a few years’ time. Here’s my take on the major insights: (more…)