Opinion: Newspapers need some risk taking, fresh thinking and specialization
Posted by Lauren Drablier on October 7, 2008 at 3:15 PM
In a recent article in the American Journalism Review, Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discussed the survival strategy for newspapers of the future.
Meyer beings by noting that just as printing changed everything, so has the Internet. Print "made the size of the audience theoretically limitless and, by the creation of multiple records, enabled more reliable preservation of knowledge."
Meyer believes that 'the Internet wrecks the old newspaper business model in two ways. It moves information with zero variable cost, which means it has no barriers to growth, unlike a newspaper, which has to pay for paper, ink and transportation in direct proportion to the number of copies produced. And the Internet's entry costs are low."
Meyer beings by noting that just as printing changed everything, so has the Internet. Print "made the size of the audience theoretically limitless and, by the creation of multiple records, enabled more reliable preservation of knowledge."
Meyer believes that 'the Internet wrecks the old newspaper business model in two ways. It moves information with zero variable cost, which means it has no barriers to growth, unlike a newspaper, which has to pay for paper, ink and transportation in direct proportion to the number of copies produced. And the Internet's entry costs are low."
Because of the cost advantages of the Internet, making a business out of highly specialized information is easier.
Meyer goes on to point out that "since World War II, specialized media had been enjoying more growth than general media. Quarterly magazines, with their limited audiences, did better than monthly magazines, which did better than weekly magazines. Community papers grew more than metropolitan papers."
Furthermore, he highlights that Robert Picard, a media economist believes that newspapers are trying to do too much. Picard stated that newspapers "keep offering an all-you-can-eat buffet of content, and keep diminishing the quality of that content because their budgets are continually thinner. This is an absurd choice because the audience least interested in news has already abandoned the newspaper."
Meyer believes that "newspapers that survive will probably do so with some kind of hybrid content: analysis, interpretation and investigative reporting in a print product that appears less than daily, combined with constant updating and reader interaction on the Web."
He also points to the fact that newspapers are now trimming down, but are failing to find a clear direction to what they are trimming down to.
Meyer believes that community influence is a newspapers most important product, "it gains this influence by being the trusted source for locally produced news, analysis and investigative reporting about public affairs. This influence makes it more attractive to advertisers."
Finally he stated that, "the old hunter-gatherer model of journalism is no longer sufficient. Now that information is so plentiful, we don't need new information so much as help in processing what's already available. We need someone to put it into context, give it theoretical framing and suggest ways to act on it."
Sources: American Journalism Review
Meyer goes on to point out that "since World War II, specialized media had been enjoying more growth than general media. Quarterly magazines, with their limited audiences, did better than monthly magazines, which did better than weekly magazines. Community papers grew more than metropolitan papers."
Furthermore, he highlights that Robert Picard, a media economist believes that newspapers are trying to do too much. Picard stated that newspapers "keep offering an all-you-can-eat buffet of content, and keep diminishing the quality of that content because their budgets are continually thinner. This is an absurd choice because the audience least interested in news has already abandoned the newspaper."
Meyer believes that "newspapers that survive will probably do so with some kind of hybrid content: analysis, interpretation and investigative reporting in a print product that appears less than daily, combined with constant updating and reader interaction on the Web."
He also points to the fact that newspapers are now trimming down, but are failing to find a clear direction to what they are trimming down to.
Meyer believes that community influence is a newspapers most important product, "it gains this influence by being the trusted source for locally produced news, analysis and investigative reporting about public affairs. This influence makes it more attractive to advertisers."
Finally he stated that, "the old hunter-gatherer model of journalism is no longer sufficient. Now that information is so plentiful, we don't need new information so much as help in processing what's already available. We need someone to put it into context, give it theoretical framing and suggest ways to act on it."
Sources: American Journalism Review
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