Three reasons for newspaper digital development

Posted by John Burke on November 23, 2005 at 12:50 PM

As the printed word struggles, the Internet seems to be making up for it. Fortunately, most newspapers caught the digital wave a decade ago. But they have been slow to innovate. Below are a few reasons why newspapers need to pay more attention to online journalism.

Growth: According to Alexia S. Quadrani, a Wall Street analyst quoted at Editor and Publisher, "the Internet is an area where newspapers can protect and gain market share over time, and this ultimately could help the newspaper stocks."

Ms. Quadrani's stresses that newspapers have exceptional advantages in their local markets, being the "most reliable media sources with extensive advertiser relationships."

With online readership growing considerably and newspaper companies expanding online by buying Internet companies, this analysis is hopefully on target.

Advertising: Reuters reports that Internet advertising rose 34% in the third quarter of 2005 breaking the $3 billion mark. Analyst David Silverman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers said, "The third-quarter figures are the most impressive we've seen yet. Clearly advertisers are realizing the benefits of shifting more of their total advertising budgets to online."

E-Commerce elaborates, saying that the "next wave" of Internet advertising will be even bigger with the inclusion of "multimedia ads bringing targeted video messages to the Internet in droves."

Journalism: Multimedia is already changing journalism, adding new facets to newsgathering, dissemination and consumption. Newspapers are converging with other media, as can be seen with this video case study of the Danish paper, Nordjyske Medier, which merged its Web, radio, TV and print all the way back in 2001.

With The Guardian now reporting that in the next four years, the number of Europeans watching TV online will hit 9 million, newspapers will undoubtedly continue to converge, and thus drastically transform the way in which journalists practice their craft.

Sources: Editor and Publisher, Reuters, E-Commerce, Journalism Leaders Blog, The Guardian