Deseret News President & Ceo Clark Gilbert says newspapers have three years to change until "permanent reality" occurs. Speaking to the Multimedia Key Executives Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, Gilbert said, "The industry is forever broken. It will bounce again, but three years from now will be the permanent reality."

Here's an except from a report in News & Tech:

... Gilbert didn't pull any punches as he opened the inaugural Multimedia Key Executives Conference that opened here today.

"Unless you are willing to completely transform yourselves, I don't have a lot to say to you today," he told the more than 470 newspaper executives attending the conference.

"A complete transformation is necessary to move forward and to be competitive" with new businesses entering the marketplace, he said, adding that he believed the industry has a three-year window to make the necessary changes.

Gilbert has overseen a dramatic change at the Deseret News, which last spring launched a digital-centric strategy. It also integrated its operations more tightly with sister media outlets KSL Radio and KSL Television in a bid to become the dominant force in Salt Lake City.

Gilbert said emerging competitors, such as Groupon, threaten to do a lot more damage to newspapers, much like Craigslist all but evaporated the industry's classified ad base.

"Groupon is going to destroy the newspaper coupon business," he said.

Read News & Tech report here.