Most newspaper editors around the world no longer think of their product as “print-only,” and are optimistic about the future of newspapers and their place in the multi-media revolution, according to the Newsroom Barometer, an annual survey of editors around the world, released Tuesday.

The second annual survey of 704 editors and senior news executives from 120 countries was conducted by Zogby International in March, and commissioned by Reuters and the World Editors Forum, a partner of the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project and also part of the World Association of Newspapers.

Eighty-six percent of respondents said they believe integrated print and online newsrooms will be the norm in the near future, and 83 percent said they believe journalists will be expected to produce content for all media platforms within the next five years. And although most foresee changes ahead, 85 percent said they are very optimistic or somewhat optimistic about the future of their newspapers, which is unchanged from 2007, according to survey results.

Additionally, 58 percent believe declining young readership is the biggest threat for newspapers' future, and despite frequent newsroom opposition, two-thirds said they believe some editorial functions will be outsourced.

"The survey shows that editors-in-chief are already multi-media minded and that they have the capacity to carry out the transition from print-only to print and online," said Bertrand Pecquerie, director of the World Editors Forum.

Other findings include:

• Fifty-six percent believe news in the future will be free, up 48 percent from last year's survey. One-third of respondents believe the news will remain paid for, and 11 percent were unsure.

• When asked what the most common platform for reading news in the future will be, 44 percent said online (up from 41 percent last year), 31 percent said print (down from 35 percent last year), 12 percent said mobile and 7 percent said e-paper, while the rest were unsure.

• Thirty-five percent said training journalists in new media is their top priority for investing in editorial quality, while 31 percent said recruiting journalists was a top priority, up from 22 percent last year.

• Two-thirds said they believe the importance of opinion and analysis pages will increase.

The survey results can be found on our partner site, Editorsweblog.org.