Newspapers - Pick one up before they go away

[BCubb2003]

Day baseball, natural grass, broadcast television, print newspaper ...

[GoReds33]

So, what is the difference between reading it off the internet or in a newspaper?

Anyway, journalism isn't dying, it's just changing from one media to another. It's becoming less centralized, too, which seems both pretty cool, and maybe a little unfortunate. After all, there is something to be said for a large, powerful news organization- it creates clout and access for its reporters.

What I mourn is the ascendancy of corporate driven news organizations over truly independent news organizations.
A perfect example is the way local television news programs are forced to spend a portion of their air time doing stories about network programming. Funny, I never see a story about American Idol on my NBC affiliate, yet it seems to be news on my Fox channel.

The difference is that it's free. At home, I can sit and read the enquirer without paying the 50 cents to buy it. Sure, the paper is making money off the advertising on the website, but not what they would have if I had bought the paper.

[SunDeck]

The difference is that it's free. At home, I can sit and read the enquirer without paying the 50 cents to buy it. Sure, the paper is making money off the advertising on the website, but not what they would have if I had bought the paper.

Agreed, but you said:

Reading just isn't what people like to do anymore.

If I'm looking at the Enquirer page on the internet, I'm probably reading.

[RedsManRick]

I love to read. If people didn't like to read, internet news sites would have flourished the way they have. I just want to read something that's current and intelligent. Recycled, out-of-date, formulaic "news" just doesn't get the job done. Especially if I'm paying for it and have to search through dozens of pieces of unwieldy paper to find the particular thing I'm interested in.

I think the newspaper industry is going to have to change fundamentally due to the fact that it no longer controls the distribution of timely written information. It's an era of specialization. If I want comics, I'll get them at a place specializing in comics, perhaps directly from the source. If I want political news, I'll find a site specializing in up to date politics. If I want an in-depth investigative report, opinions, restaurant reviews, etc, there are places who do that better and who are, now, equally if not more accessible -- and often free. And the things people want to read about are also being changed. People are no longer as interested in reading about what the newspaper editor feels is the top story of the day. Chances are, they've already heard about and if they wanted to learn more, could have done so already. They no longer have a captive audience.

And I'm not stuck to my computer. I can print what I need/want to take with me with increasing ease. Heck, I can even get it on my Blackjack if I'm so inclined. It's simply a business model built on a fee-based product that is no longer unique it in it's ability to serve its purpose.

[BCubb2003]

Nearly every newspaper has a Web site, so it's not a matter of whether to do online news, but to do it well. As for the paper, the best thing to do is to put out a paper for the people who want news on paper, for however long that lasts. Some people, as mentioned above, still like to sit down with a paper and a cup of coffee and read the news that way. The paper should step up and meet their needs.

But I'm working on my concept of Pizza 2.0: Give away the pizza and sell advertising on the box.

[oneupper]

I have been under the impression that papers just broke even on hard copies, and that the profit came from the ads. Is that true? If so, my next question would be, are Web ads as effective as print ads?

That's probably about correct. Circulation numbers are key for determining advertising rates. So, like magazines, newspapers will work hard for you to keep your subscription.

Increasingly, you will see "free" papers, given away at Subway stations and other high-traffic places. Europe is full of them, to the point that some cities were considering taxing them (the papers) due to the refuse they generate.

[GoReds33]

Agreed, but you said:



If I'm looking at the Enquirer page on the internet, I'm probably reading.

You're right. I guess I just didn't phrase that right. I wil lread, but just some stories that I want to read. I also don't want to pay to read.

[BCubb2003]

Just of out curiosity, if you were Castellini and you had bought The Cincinnati Post instead of the Reds, what would you do with it?

[KronoRed]

Just of out curiosity, if you were Castellini and you had bought The Cincinnati Post instead of the Reds, what would you do with it?

Merge it with the Dayton Daily News and change both papers into a big metro type paper.

[jmcclain19]

Google Reader and RSS Feeds have pretty much eliminated any need whatsoever for me to buy printed copy any more.

Just about anything I want to read has an RSS feed (except Redszone) and I have 200+ feeds in my Google Reader.

Slowly news organizations are figuring out a way to make money off their web content - it's just taken them way too long to do so. I have a feeling newspapers will be like Radio is decades after the explosion of television. You'll still be able to pick one up, but their function and importance in our daily lives has been reduced significantly.

Still believe that no one comes close to covering local, community news like newspapers. Our free paper for my community of 30k people is excellent and I never miss picking it up at Walgreens every Friday when it comes out. I'm on the extreme suburban fringe of a major metro area and our two major papers might combine for 3 stories a week about our town. That's why I wouldn't bother dropping a dime to pick either up anymore.

[BCubb2003]

Do you think our Fantasy Post newspaper should try to be bigger than the Enquirer, or should it be a lot of little Florence Recorders?

[Chip R]

Do you think our Fantasy Post newspaper should try to be bigger than the Enquirer, or should it be a lot of little Florence Recorders?

I know it's a fantasy but the first things you're going to need are a printing press and a way to get the papers to the subscribers. The Post was using the Enquirer's facilities for that and that ship has sailed. If you're going to compete against the Enquirer you also have to take into account that you're not just going up against the Enquirer but Gannett as well.

[BCubb2003]

I know it's a fantasy but the first things you're going to need are a printing press and a way to get the papers to the subscribers. The Post was using the Enquirer's facilities for that and that ship has sailed. If you're going to compete against the Enquirer you also have to take into account that you're not just going up against the Enquirer but Gannett as well.

Yes, you could have bought the Post for less than a Rule 5 draftee, but turning it into a real newspaper is the expensive part. We'll have a plan for that when we know what kind of newspaper we want to be.

[Ltlabner]

While I can appreicate the newspaper afficanados, the change in the delivery system is a wonderfull stepforward. It's not without it's pitfalls (as has been noted), but moving to a more decentralized, pseudo real-time system with controbutions from a wider number of sources is far more valuable for delivering news than the old model.

Newspapers are great if you want to read yesterdays news, stock figures, sports transactions, etc. But if you want more current info, in some cases real-time, an electronic delivery system simply makes far more sense. Especially with advances into newsreaders, RSS, internet capabile cellphones, etc.

The electronic media makes even more sense if you travel frequently, as I do. Paying for a paper that will be 2 to 4 days old when I get back home to read it is a complete waste of money and paper. While I could only get the Sunday paper now the time factor is even more of an issue.

Although my poor Grandfather simply can't compute that my computer screen can deliver the news just as his paper does to him. Several times now I've commented, "I read in the news that blah blah blah........" and I can see in his eyes he has no idea what I am talking about since he knows I don't get a paper.

[Unassisted]

My local newspaper recently stopped providing delivery and newsstand service to a few cities over 100 miles distant because the cost of getting papers there had become greater than the revenue it was generating. The few thousand subscribers who were cut off were hopping mad at being told the only way they could now receive their San Antonio paper is to have it emailed as a PDF file. As fuel prices increase, you have to figure this will start happening in other places around the country.