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Newspapers Hope To Avoid Becoming Yesterday’s News
May 28, 2008 12:40 PM
Print newspapers are still learning to embrace the Internet rather than fight it. Now they face another challenge: how to bring quality back to journalism.
30-Second Summary
With ad revenue and print circulation taking a nosedive, newspapers have had to reinvent themselves. Gannett, the chain that owns USA Today and a host of other newspapers around the country, has moved toward “hyperlocal” news coverage: the print edition is heavier on analysis with a focus on local stories, while breaking stories are covered online.
Part of this reinvention also means taking advantage of the Internet’s particular strengths. According to Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of consumer research firm comScore, “the brands that will ultimately win over these key news consumers are those that successfully integrate cutting edge digital content with high quality journalism.”
Though some readers shun the “cutting edge digital content” available online and remain loyal to their morning ritual of the newspaper and coffee, results from a recent poll show that more and more people are going online to get their news: 48 percent of respondents said their primary news source is the Internet, an 8 percent increase from last year.
The survey also found that 64 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism, suggesting that as newspapers change their business models and morph into online digital content providers, there may be more important challenges ahead.
According to Andrew Nachison, cofounder of media think tank iFOCOS, “we have documented a crisis in American journalism that is far more serious than the industry’s business challenges. … Americans recognize the value of journalism for their communities, and they are unsatisfied with what they see.”
Part of this reinvention also means taking advantage of the Internet’s particular strengths. According to Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of consumer research firm comScore, “the brands that will ultimately win over these key news consumers are those that successfully integrate cutting edge digital content with high quality journalism.”
Though some readers shun the “cutting edge digital content” available online and remain loyal to their morning ritual of the newspaper and coffee, results from a recent poll show that more and more people are going online to get their news: 48 percent of respondents said their primary news source is the Internet, an 8 percent increase from last year.
The survey also found that 64 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism, suggesting that as newspapers change their business models and morph into online digital content providers, there may be more important challenges ahead.
According to Andrew Nachison, cofounder of media think tank iFOCOS, “we have documented a crisis in American journalism that is far more serious than the industry’s business challenges. … Americans recognize the value of journalism for their communities, and they are unsatisfied with what they see.”
Headline Links: Newspapers no longer in the newspaper business
Scott Anthony, president of Innosight, a consulting company, says that the newspaper industry has learned that simply putting a newspaper online isn’t the solution; what’s needed is a new model. The Journal News is one paper that has embraced the idea of “community conversation” by using Internet tools like forums, blogs and chat rooms to get readers involved in the story.
Source: Marketplace
The younger generation of Internet users is more apt to avoid print media and get their news online. However, research from comScore also found that heavy print newspaper readers are more likely than average to read the online versions of traditional print newspapers. Says comScore’s Jack Flanagan, “the internet represents a significant opportunity to extend and improve existing news brands and reach out to new consumers with living, breathing, real-time content.”
Source: vnunet.com
Background: A downward trend for paper
A Pew Research Center for the People and the Press survey from 2006 found that only 4 in 10 Americans get their news from a printed newspaper, but author Anita Diamant is not part of the declining trend. She realizes that there are many news delivery options, “yet I cling to my paper.”
Source: International Herald Tribune
A We Media/Zogby Interactive poll in February found that 32 percent of respondents consider Web sites more trustworthy than traditional media sources, and the Internet was cited over newspapers, radio and TV as the most-used news source. Roughly two-thirds of respondents were dissatisfied with the quality of traditional journalism.
Source: iFOCOS
Related Topic: Book-of-the-month club business model also threatened
When Bertelsmann AG, a German publishing conglomerate, recently sold its American book clubs, many saw the sale as a sign of the times. “I don’t hold much hope for the future of mainstream book clubs,” says Roger Cooper, the former editorial director of Bertelsmann’s American book clubs. The availability of books at bookstore chains, supermarkets and the Internet has cut into club memberships and profits.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Newspapers around the world
For a directory of online newspapers in the United States and around the world, visit the Internet Public Library Web site. Browse newspapers by state or country.
Source: The Internet Public Library
© 2010 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
