At over $4 a gallon, gas is definitely putting the pinch on consumers. Wired writes, “No Mocha For Me, Thanks. I’ve Gotta Buy Gas.” We aren’t sweating the little things; we’re simply cutting them out.

The media is self-centered. It loves to write about itself without regard for whether its audience is interested or not. Lately, everywhere I turn I see “the death of print” articles sniveling over the struggling newspaper and magazine industry. They put the blame squarely on the Internet.

I squarely disagree with this assessment. No doubt some advertising dollars have shifted to the Internet and some readers have shifted their viewing to the Internet. So it’s a contributing factor.

But at the heart of it is gas prices. Consumers are having to divert a few hundred dollars a month to gas. Where does that money come from? It comes out of discretionary income, the money we have left over after paying our bills. It’s the money we spend on mochas, newspapers, magazines, and going out to eat.

One of the first things consumers are going to cut back on is newspapers and magazines. They’re still reading, but instead of paying for paper, they’re turning to the Internet and cutting out the cost of delivery. So the media is out the markup.

But more importantly, advertisers go where the readers are. It’s not that advertisers are preferring to advertise via the Internet necessarily, but rather advertisers are ticks and leaches. They go wherever consumers go. And gasoline prices have driven consumers to the Net.

Will they go back to print when times are better? That depends on how long it takes for the economy to recover. In part, they will become used to getting more of their info via the Net. Technology companies are finally seriously committed to coming out with products that make getting information from the Net easier and more portable. We’re seeing more UMPCs and Netbooks offerings, larger screens on cell phones, and better batteries. And the media is making their content easier to access via feeds.

Eventually, the economy will improve as it always does, but by the time that happens we may have already moved on and left print behind.