Can newspapers afford editors? That’s the controversial question asked by Newsosaur Alan Mutter, in light of newspapers struggling with declining print ad revenues, while online pure-players are growing their profits.

“If we have to economize, the editing process is the place. Why do we have all these people processing stories after a reporter writes it? They are not producing anything that will get us traffic on the web,” said a senior editor at a major metropolitan daily, as reported by Mutter.

The issue at stake is that the operating costs of print publishing are a lot higher than those for online publishers. As illustrated in the chart below, about half a dozen experienced editors and journalists typically peruse a print story of a metropolitan daily. If the story is particularly sensitive, the process can involve even more human resources, including lawyers, the publisher, designers, and more.



On the other hand, “Google, Yelp, Everyblock and myriad other major competitive online sources for news and information collectively employ exactly zero people to author content,” said Mutter.

At this point, it is still unthinkable for most newspapers that a reporter’s story be directly filed into print, with little editorial oversight. But as noted by Mutter, several publications including large ones are allowing reporters to publish text and pictures directly to the newspaper's website.

Obviously, newspapers would rid themselves of their primary assets, credibility and quality, if they were to cut editors. “The question is whether the industry can continue to afford them,” said Mutter. Furthermore, the question is how can the business model of newspapers evolve to afford them.

That’s the multi-million-dollar question.

Source: Newsosaur through Journerdism