Will Newspapers Survive?March 25th, 2009
Print journalists are forced to fight for their livelihoods in the Online Age
by Leo Dirr
My mom was furious. She had just received notice from her hometown newspaper that her paper would no longer be delivered on her porch. It would be dumped at the top of her driveway instead.
"How in the hell do they expect me to find my paper in the winter when it snows?" she grumbled.
"Good question, ma. Why don't you just cancel your subscription and read the paper online like everybody else?" I asked.
Ohhhh. Those were fighting words. See, after 30 years of reading the same newspaper every day, it sort of becomes a habit. The paper is part of my mom's daily routine. She really can't live without it. And computers kind of creep her out.
So, I suggested she call the paper to complain. She did, and it was all a big mix-up, after all. My mom still gets her morning paper on her porch. Thank God!
If only all newspaper subscribers were as loyal as my dear, sweet mother. In that case, the industry wouldn't be gasping for air, as it is now.
The problem, as Mark Potts, of the Recovering Journalist blog, puts it, is that my mom is part of "a certain older, dwindling audience."
Thanks, Mark. I'll be sure to let my mom know that she's "old and dwindling."
But wait, there's more ...
What Ails Newspapers?
Newspapers in America have seen better days. Print publications are losing readers to the Internet at an alarming rate. And online classified ad sites like Craigslist and Monster are shrinking the papers' revenue even faster.
Add to that the economic recession and high debt loads, and it pretty much spells certain disaster. Major newspaper companies have seen their stock prices battered by 90 percent in the past couple of years.
"It's rather amazing to watch the whole industry head off the cliff together," observes Mark Potts, everyone's favorite Recovering Journalist (http://recoveringjournalist.typepad.com/).
Newspaper executives have missed major opportunities to innovate online, Potts claims.
"Most newspaper Web sites are perfunctory - newspapers pasted on a screen. Even the best only barely take advantage of cutting-edge Web technologies such as social media, contextual search, search engine optimization and much more," he says.
As with anything in Utah, the newspaper industry story plays out here in its own odd, little way.
The LDS Church-owned Deseret News has actually seen about a 2 percent bump in circulation recently. The rise can probably be attributed, in part, to the paper's decision to cater more blatantly to its large Mormon audience.
The move has not come without controversy, however, as some observers wonder if the Salt Lake City newspaper is sacrificing its editorial integrity by killing important stories that don't mesh with Mormon beliefs.
Meanwhile, The Salt Lake Tribune has dumped some print readers but appears to be picking up steam online as it shifts its focus to a digital future.
Some industry experts see a few bright spots.
Jennifer Saba, of Editor & Publisher's Fitz and Jen blog, acknowledges the industry faces major challenges.
But she also notes: "For the most part, many newspapers are still profitable. The problem is really the debt that many of the newspaper companies have taken on."
And she is quick to give newspapers credit for their progress online.
"Many newspapers do a decent job with their Web sites. That is where readership is growing. They really don't have an audience problem. They have a revenue problem," Saba says.
Part 1 Part 2: Fierce Competition: Attack of the Mommy Bloggers » Part 3 »
