Traditional newspapers are hurting
- To the list of challenges faced by newspapers -- declining circulation, rising newsprint costs and increased competition from more up-to-the-minute media -- add another: rising pressure from investors to make more money and reverse sliding stock prices.
So begins a Washington Post piece (by Frank Ahrens) on the continuing woes besetting media comapnies that are still concentrated in the traditional newspaper business.
The news peg is the latest development involving the troubled Knight Ridder group, which owns 32 titles, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Miami Herald.
Of course Knight Ridder isn't the only newspaper company having problems. Notes the Post:
- Knight Ridder is vulnerable to a sell-off because its stock price has steadily declined, and the same holds true for other major media companies that own newspapers. Gannett Co.'s stock is down 21 percent over the past year, The Washington Post Co.'s is down 19 percent and the New York Times Co.'s is down 30 percent -- opening the door to shareholder dissent.
This development also adds context to Tribune Media's own newspaper woes, recounted in a previous mediaville post. Tribune "recently secured a profit margin of 'only' 17.5 per cent (high by almost any other industry's measures, but low for the obscenely profitable mainstream media)." And as I noted then, "Tribune's making bags of money but not enough, because Wall Street expects it to make even more." (And of course this means that Tribune's managers and its shareholders are willing to see deep cuts to get their profit margins up.)
Ahrens does raise an interesting point: "Some within the industry think newspapers are better suited to private rather than public ownership," he notes. "Private companies attempt to minimize earnings, which are taxable, and maximize cash flow, which can be used to pay down debts. Public companies, however, are pressured to maximize earnings to appease shareholders."
posted by hdougie at 11/10/2005 08:13:00 PM
20 Comments:
Here's the thing, Newspaper's aren't a part of life any more. American (and other western) cultures have speed up. No longer do people schedule time for sitting around and leafing through a newspaper section by section. Almost nobody reads a newspaper from start to finish, it's a matter of reading what stories interest you. So why have a bulky paper version of that when the alternative of clicking on a link on a webpage is so much more simple? Newspaper's provide a valuable resource, the key is that they have to move online. I can't wait for the day that a major metropolitan newspaper announces it's moving it's content exclusively online. Media distribution is changing, TV, Radio, Newspapers, nothing is now what it will be in 10 years.
Everything about the media is changing. Radio went through a steady decline while the television was booming. Although that did occur, there is still a demand for radio. There are technological changes that have enhanced radio to keep it above ground. I have a feeling that newspapers will go through the same kind of deal. It will have to change and suit the needs of people again. Obviously the main way that newspapers can go is to the Internet, and I agree with Joshua Carey in saying that it would be an exciting and necessary transition from leafing through huge newpapers to simply reading an article with one click of a mouse.
Alison Maher
It is sad but true; people just don't have time to sit down and have a nice breakfast while reading the newspaper. Clicking on a link to an article (like you could do on this blog) is much faster and more convinient.
I feel like everything is digital these days. For example, digital cameras are so prevalent that not many people use normal cameras where you have to print your photos out. Sure, it's nice and easy to be able to adjust and organize photos on your computer, but there's that quality in pictures that cannot be forgotten.
Same goes for newspapers; I always keep a few copies of my Lamron articles because I like the process of cutting them out and keeping them. I could just go to the Lamron website and print it out on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper, but I would rather have dark finger tips from touching the newspapers.
I hope that people will have the luxury to wake up a few minutes early and make time to sit down, relax, and just read the newspaper.
Hiroko Yuki
I think newspapers are a valuable resource and I will cry the day they are only available online. Newspapers are artifacts. They are physical evidence of events and issues. They helped to spread ideas and movements In American history. I don't think that should be abandoned. There are still many people who would much prefer sitting down and reading the paper over going online for their daily news. About the private/public ownership issue. I think that maybe there should be private ownership if that would prevent cuts from being made. If stockholders are so greedy for even higher profits, maybe they should look elsewhere. This is a perfect example of the extent of greed that exists in today's society, its a sad reflection on us.
~Shannon Cox
Technology is in an age of rapid advancement and improvement. It is no wonder that old technology, like the newspaper, is becoming obsolete. Communications like the telegraph, morse code, and smoke signals all are not used much or at all anymore because of new technologies replacing the older methods. If the news corporations want to stay in business they need to adapt with the times. Maybe bye expanding its operations more like a media company like Viacom or Fox, it could stay profitable. If it used more recent technologies to present the news, they might be able to stay in business.
-Joe Calvano
I wrote my news framing assignment on basically the same topic but about local newscasts in Albany, NY. I think that what is going on here is pretty much standard for all "older" forms of media these days. Everyone is fighting for advertisement money and advertisers are looking more towards the new way of marketing their productsm mainly having to do with digital mediums. These new digital mediums are where more and more people are actually looking to get their news, not newspapers which are just starting to be considered old fashion. Investors might want to start selling their shares in newspapers and invest in an online company instead. As technology grows the chance for newspapers to increase profits becomes less. Maybe if major news papers try and do the same thing that smaller ones are doing by combining their "back office" it would help them out. In the future, print media will have to come up with new ways to attract consumers or they will be history.
-Sam Minassian
Newspapers are just about the only way I get news - I can get in-depth stories whenever I feel like reading it, I don't have to be chained at the hip to a TV or computer. Like Hiroko said, when you get up from the couch after watching the six o'clock news you don't have ink all over your fingertips so it's just not the same. I guess I'm in the minority though. Unfortunately, I do think print newspapers will disappear completely eventually - hopefully not for awhile. If public ownership is a way to put off their demise then I think it's a great idea - I can't think of many others. Product placement? You could have prominent political figures holding cans of Dr. Pepper in photographs. I think public ownership would be a much better idea though.
previous entry by Jeff DeBellis
From the opponions put forth in the above comments, it is pretty much assumed that like radio, the mews paper is going into a recesion. I think that instead of trying to switch ownership or target audiences, news papers should just pick the medium that the want to fill that the internet can't. There are certain things that a news paper gives someone, like ink stains, and those are what should be focused on.
~Christian Foster
I have mixed views on the future of traditional newspapers. Clearly people don't have the time and patience to sit down and read an entire newspaper. However, I find that I stumble on articles that I'm interested in far more often with print media than I do on internet sites. Clicking links isn't faster than scanning headlines in a paper, and I frequently get bored with the process and start googling some other topic.
- Mike Tatelbaum
It’s kind of sad to think that we are consistently favoring faster, easier ways to receive information. However, I shouldn’t say anything because I’m a culprit of this as well – I read my news off the internet or watch TV to get it. Rarely do I sit down and read a newspaper cover to cover. I think there is something really cool about doing that though, and I find it more informing. Yet, I still find myself sitting at my computer, chatting to friends, reading emails, and then checking the news because it’s all right in front of me and easily accessible. I think perhaps the newspaper industry needs to somehow become more technologically advanced. I heard of an idea that newspaper companies would create something like an ipod, but for news. And just send all their stories to the ipod itself so that they’ve created a digital, portable newspaper. I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not because I feel like the person who would buy that, would just buy a laptop and get the news from online. Overall, the newspaper industry is definitely declining and it is impossible to not recognize this.
- Tara Thomas
The print newspaper is a dinosaur waiting to die - just like the 5PM/6PM news programs. These informational mediums will soon be overwhelmed by our 'on-the-go' society which progressively shifts more and more toward on-demand based electronic sources. Podcasts, TiVo, and online newspapers are just the beginning of a huge transition away from traditional mediums (daily newspapers) and a new age for the news.
Traditional newspapers are already bracing themselves for the downfall of the print-based news by embracing the internet. The newspaper companies will live long, and prosper only if they can utilize the potential that the world wide web contains.
The New York Times (NYT) has already started to take advantage of the switch. They initially published their print articles free-of-charge on-line, but now (after finding success and popularity with the service)they have developed more services and focus on becoming the 'Times Select', a subscription based online news provider.
The switch from print to online will reduce costs for the news companies and keep them profitable with advertisers and subscribers... however you need to keep in mind that internet is an even playing field with many other news providers competing in a single location.
Print will continue to decline and will eventually fade away after the baby-boomers aren't around; modern technology does hold the answer to the on-the-go, on-demand based consumers - but in terms of financial success on the internet - it's a survival of the fittest.
-R. DiMillo
I read the New York Times daily online. It is so convienent to check every few hours to check for updates. This past summer I can remember checking every 20 minutes during events like the space shuttle launch, the London bombings, the revealing of Deep Throat and the decision of the olympic host country. It seems impossible for hard copy newspapers to compete with their own online editions. I want to find out what happened at 2:30 in the afternoon that day, not the next morning. When I get older and have a steady income, I will probably subscribe to the hard copy, but I can't see myself not continuing to check online every few hours for updates!
Elizabeth Cronin
Using the internet as a news source has two main advantages over traditional newspapers: It is more timely, and more convenient. I remember last year when I was able to watch a video of the announcement of the new pope while it was actually happening. I also check the news in the morning while I am also checking my e-mail and having breakfast. Even my parents have converted to checking news via online sources. I think that once people realize how easy it is, they abandon traditonal newspapers. It will be interesting to see what happens to the newspaper industry in the future as younger age cohorts get older.
Jillian Nunn
Most sources of print media have begun to see that the only way to survive is to establish themselves on-line. Newspapers such as the New York Times have free on-line subscriptions, viewers only have to pay to see older articles. I find it sad that these institutions are struggling to keep up with new technologies, however I also believe that if people are still reading the news that is a good sign. If it weren't for on-line news sites I would not be as in touch as I am now, I would not subscribe to the newspaper, and would have to rely on watching the 6 o'clock news as often as I could. I feel that the bottom line is that as long as people are getting news somewhere, then we are in pretty good shape.
Liz Mann
It's crazy to think about how disposable everything in our worlds is becoming with new technology. Before email, people actually wrote letters on paper that they could save and go back to years later. Now, with email, letters are deleted with a click of your mouse. That is just one example of the value of having something material that you can hold onto, like a newspaper. None of us can deny that our world is changing and that newspapers need to adapt their ways in order to keep up. However I think print newspapers have their own niche that not even the faster or more convenient forms of news can replace, and there is a group of people who will continue to value newspapers for a long time.
Julia Perriello
I think it is inevitable that newspaper sales are declining because there are so many new inventions of media out that are replacing newspapers. Furthermore, the older generations, which are the primary readers of the print media, are not getting any younger. I think a way that the newspapers can still manage to attract an audience is clearly through the Internet, however, it does not necessarily have to be at no cost. A low fee could be paid to have a membership at websites that the individual enjoys reading news articles from. Furthermore, I don't think that newspapers need to be discredited immediately, instead, they should focus on different alternatives that could attract the younger generations. They need to offer types of information that would appeal and be an alternate sort of view to the typical news that has been seen in the media.
Oops, the last entry was written by Ashley Pericak.
I agree with many of the above posts, technology is making things such as the newspaper a thing of yesterday. I hardly ever read a hard copy of a newspaper. Every morning I check the weather on the 10 NBC site and I will glance at the headlining stories. If there is something that is interesting then I will read it, but most of the time I just bypass the headlines to find out the weather. It is much easier for me to turn on the televsion and listen to the news while I am getting ready in the morning. I don't have time to sit down and read a paper. Not to sound like an idiot, but the paper can be overwhelming with all the stories that it runs. Many times headlines get lost on the paper and I don't usually feel like searching through the paper to find a article that interests me. I would much rather turn on the television to get my news or go on the internet.
I also forgot to post my name on my comment, oops!
Meghan Scheib
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