There is no question that newspapers are on a downward slope. However, there are instances of papers using a different business model with success. Maybe there is hope for the papers after all.
After reading some different articles about the newspaper crisis, I'm not convinced that newspapers have to be a thing of the past. The internet is easy to blame for declines in subscriptions, but the music and movie industries have and are still facing the same challenges. Did they give up? Just like other media industries newspaper will have to adapt and find a way to make a profit in a changing market.
Jim Moroney, the publisher of The Dallas Morning News says, "We are profitable, have remained profitable and basically have no debts, so we're in great shape." How can this be? Haven't we only heard of doom and gloom scenarios? Moroney added pages to his papers and asked his subscribers to pay more for his paper. They agreed.
A non profit strategy has also been used with effectiveness. These non profit papers have a deeper connection with their readers. They hold events and interact with customers. When you make someone value the product they are getting there is a much better chance that customers will be willing to pay for it.
Don't give up newspapers, adaptation is what you need.
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http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/09/25/01
ReplyDeletehttp://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/08/21/06
You basically took the words right out of my mouth.
ReplyDeleteTo further expand on your adaptation point, newspapers such as The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have created online versions of their newspapers for people to subscribe to (https://www.subscriber-service.com/mjs/ns/nsSplash.asp?pid=85).
It seems the key intrigue of internet news is its immediacy. Stovall says, "The president could go on the television to declare war, and before the statement was finished, it would be on the Web, and reaction to it could be coming in." Perhaps newspapers should use their websites solely for articles in which immediacy is relevant.
For example, a story about a serial killer is written on the Web, while an investigative report on corruption in local government is reserved for the newspaper. I don't think that this would necessarily bring newspaper sales back up to where they once were. However, I believe that it could potentially lessen the blow that the newspaper industry is taking right now.