As slashing back on staff number becomes the latest mode of restructuring, it would seem publishers are being tempted by 'less is better.' According to Ken Doctor's Newsonomics on Niemann Journalism Lab, less is only better if newspapers are innovative.

The Deseret Morning News for example, recently reduced its staff by 43%. By combining its newspaper with its TV and radio houses though, Deseret Management Co hopes not to experience the negative aspects of a reduced workforce. CEO Clark Gilbert was even optimistic enough to state that Deseret News now has "access to more journalists, hyperlocal contributors, national sports figures than ever before."

By converging, Deseret's less has actually become more. A story that would have required journalists from each of the platforms would now need just one, and duplication is avoided. Coverage will also go deeper, as two-thirds the staff will be serving as field respondents, while the rest rewrite. Cost is therefore reduced, while quality goes up.

A lot of content will also be outsourced, "Some of the best don't write for money," Gilbert pointed out, describing current times as "the age of cheap content." This way, Doctor says, "the new company will be able to house lots more content under its brand, at a far lower cost point." When this happens, more is going to cost less.

The Deseret also plans to project further, by reaching to as many audiences as possible. By assuming that consumers want news 'brought together' for them, the news company will be converging various media. Text stories, blogs, videos and audio are going to be combined across board in passing information to the public. This is a safe bet, considering consumers are increasingly juggling technology when searching for information. In this instance, less is more futuristic and interesting than more.

It may be a side effect of internet economics, as Ken Doctor surmises, but can newspapers actually find ways to turn less into more?

Source: Nieman Journalism Lab. Image: blog.rarenewspapers.com