God save the newspapers

Elissa Gavette — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:59:05 +0000

I see the newspaper’s problem as two pronged; their current business model is severely flawed and their content is not original. I think at the core of the newspaper industry’s problem is the fact that they are trying to continue to charge for something that, at the same time, they are giving away for free. If you talked to CEOs in any other industry, they would laugh at that business model. I understand that the idea of charging consumers for both mediums, print and online, seems like a daunting task, but it’s absurd to continue giving away all your content for free. It might be easier to start with charging news aggregators, websites or services that only serve to collect news articles from other sources without contributing any content. This would be a way to avoid newspapers charging each individual consumer and targeting other companies that are making a profit from their work. If those companies in turn charge the consumers, it is their decision. Either way you go, the shift must be made simultaneously across the country.

The second problem I see with newspapers is the heavy reliance on wire services. When I read the Oregonian and the Register Guard on the same day, I see about 80% of the same stories. It’s ridiculous. I don’t see the point of having two different papers when it’s the same stuff over again. So my suggestion is to work on specializing or localizing the news. I realize it is tough to finance foreign reporters, especially now that they are hemorrhaging money, but at least with the local/regional news get original.

My last suggestion for newspapers is to turn reporters into personalities. Foster a personal connection between the reporter and audience. That could be done in a lot of different ways. They could get involved locally through service organizations, schools or churches. It could also be involvement online through blogging or tweeting. Anything that gets a conversation going between the audience and the reporter would be a good place to start. A huge emphasis has been placed on avoiding biases but I think at this point, everyone realizes that reporters aren’t robots – they have opinions, perspectives and some aren’t even that good at hiding them. So why try? Why not use them to really focus your audience and gain a core group of support. If readers can identify with a personality – someone who is visible, relatable and that they trust (whether it is because of their political affiliations or backgrounds) – they are less likely to see newspapers as interchangeable. They will be loyal and more willing to pay for the content.

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God save the newspapers