An August 2005  posting by Ben Cauthorn at Rebuilding Media (see sources) used the San Franciso Chronicle as an example in how metro papers are losing their influence in the changing media landscape. He described how American metro newspapers are "outdated" in that they have refocused too many of their resources on broader national and international news while simultaneously straying from local coverage, pointing to the San Francisco Examiner which covers the Bay area much better than the Chronicle with much less resources.

The reason that metro papers were successful in the past, according to Cauthorn, was two advantages they had:

   1. the financial resources to produce quality investigative journalism anywhere in the world
   2. they were convenient for national advertisers.

These advantages no longer exist. Although they are still claiming significant profits, metro newspapers have had to make extensive staff cuts to do so, closing overseas bureaus and diluting the newsroom enough that papers' journalism is suffering. As for advertising, at least one financial company has said that the modestly forecasted 2.4% newspaper advertising growth wil not even be reached leading some to predict even more newsroom cuts in 2006.

It is feared that if these papers continue cutting staff that they will ultimately kill their core function, eventually running themselves into the ground. But as long as the news gets covered, does it really matter if these staples of the media landscape disappear?

News agencies: Many newspapers cutting staff have resorted to printing more wire copy which, firstly, can be somewhat of a turn-off to readers who enjoy seeing a familiar local name in the byline. Secondly, readers can read wire copy from many sources on the Internet (especially the US' most popular news source, Yahoo! News), so buying a metro paper full of news agency stories and weak local coverage becomes almost pointless for the reader.

Local news: Since the metro papers have disconnected with their communities, local papers have been filling the gap and using the advantages of technology to become intimate once again with their public by providing easy connections between people and advertisers within their communities as well as between the community and the local paper. Stories from citizens are also accepted and provide a local touch that metro papers cannot provide their readerships.

Although this is a primarily American trend, it can be seen in Europe as well. In Spain, for example, free papers have penetrated many local markets providing news that regional editions of national papers cannot. In Britain, the regional press is said to be in good shape as national dailies, even after format change, can't seem to reach and maintain the circulation increases they had hoped for.

So what becomes the role of metro papers? They will not disappear. But their journalistic role changes. They are too big to cover local and too small to continue competing with news agencies on international, but they maintain their powerful brand names.

These names can be used to provide expert commentary on current events, accompanied by forums where readers can discuss issues among themselves and the experts.

They could also take advantage of their regional influence by turning the weekly supplements they produce into lifestyle magazines related to their locale. Local sports coverage is also an advantage for metro papers.

But the investigative journalism that metro papers have traditionally produced could be ceded to the larger and smaller organizations.

John Burke and Bertrand Pecquerie 

Source: Corante Network / Rebuilding Media