“But the print newspaper is unquestionably ailing. Circulation is declining. Advertising is flat. As Warren Buffett said at his annual investor’s meeting in May 2006 newspapers appear to have entered a period of “protracted decline,” says the report.

A look at the report’s findings on declining audience and possible newsroom investments for newspapers in the US – to contrast with global trends of increasing readership and circulation, according to the World Association of Newspapers:

Audience

A picture can be worth a thousand words.

Average US Daily Newspaper circulation (Source: Editor & Publisher)

Only weekday morning papers showed a slight growth in circulation over the last 15 years, which is also representative of the evolution of news consumption.

Number of US daily newspapers (source: Editor & Publisher)

Sunday papers and morning dailies are the only categories of newspapers to have increased the number of publications in the past 15 years.

The report found that big metropolitan newspapers are the biggest losers of this declining trend for print. For three main reasons: big metro markets have higher proportion of online users and news consumers, they can’t compete with suburban dailies and weeklies “that dish out hyper-local news regional papers,” and big cities are more likely to attract free dailies.

Regional, local and hyper-local newspapers seemed better fit to resist the decline, although “there were some even more ominous signs of generalized decline in 2006.”

To fight the decline in circulation, newspapers have tried to come up with new measurement indicators to quantify a newspaper’s total reach – trying to measure online audiences in addition to print circulation. Circulation now only accounts for about 20% of a typical newspaper’s revenue.

“A question for the future may be whether mainstream papers will consider doing away with paid circulation — giving papers away — or charge only for the convenience of home delivery,” says the report. According to it, these free models might actually be beneficial, since they could boost circulation and cut costs in the circulation and distribution work force.

Newsroom Investments

2007 could be the year that “a smaller American newspaper, more analytical and targeted to older, well-educated readers, emerges as the new model,” says the report.

As for audience and newspapers’ reach, the report’s findings on main newsroom investment trends for 2006 are rather negative:

- staff cuts continue.
- ”American newspapers have diminished ambitions. The metros are pulling back to a much more local orientation,” says the report, as a consequence of smaller print sizes and a reduced newshole. “The typical metro is printing 10% to 20% less news than in the good old days of 2000.”
- stock market pressures are squeezing newspaper’s cost base.
- newspapers are investing in digital operations, but the gains still don’t compensate for losses. The report does cite a number of smaller-city sites that are “drawing attention for excellence or innovation” and have “high degree of interactivity and reader-contributed material.”

A quick look at some of the following news publications can give some editors ideas on how to revamp their own paper: Lawrence, Kan.; Naples, Fla.; Spokane, Wash.; Bluffton, S.C.; Milwaukee. Click here for a report on local news websites and their use of user-generated media.

The glass is half-full

Newspapers mustn’t be discouraged by ailing indicators though. Here are a few positive arguments for newspapers:

- “Medium-sized and small papers are not experiencing the severe financial setbacks of the metros and are not cutting their staffs as deeply.” The trend towards more local content is also happening in the UK.

- Although it may result in staff cuts, ”technology from Google to cell phones to electronic page design has made the work of the newsroom at least somewhat more efficient.”

- ”The industry still comfortably fields more than 50,000 full-time professionals. Losses for the decade are well under 10%.”

In conclusion, “as of now, we find it too soon to side with either the optimists or the alarmists,” says the report.

For the full report’s findings on Newspapers in the US, click below. For prior postings on the report’s findings, click here and here. Part 2 on Monday, focusing on Digital Journalism.

Source: State of the News Media