Former editor Alan Rusbridger looks back on the dawning realisation that news was about to change forever

A crystal ball was – at least at the outset – not required.

A trip to the US in 1993 to “see the internet” left me in no doubt: the days of the daily printed newspaper were numbered. Once people learned about this thing they were calling the “world wide web”, there would be no going back. It might take 10 years, it might take 50, but it was clear that the future was digital.