Moving Newspapers Online
Newspapers are Hurting now, but some See a Change on the Horizon.
There's no doubt the Internet has changed the rules of the journalism game, at least as far as how news gets distributed, consumed and presented. But as traditional media outlets gain more and more online traction, many industry analysts and publishers are confident those prized younger eyes will wander back toward the written word in time.
Internet Advertising Revenue
Beyond waning subscriptions and slashed content, newspapers are facing an exodus of advertising dollars to Internet-based sources like Craigslist and Monster.com. How bad is it? The Internet Advertising Bureau reported on Nov. 20, 2008 that third-quarter revenues are expected to reach a staggering $5.9 billion. That's an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2007 and the second-highest quarter results ever, the agency said.
So it's no exaggeration newsrooms are against the wall on a few fronts. This 2007 Harvard study found that half of all teens and young adults rarely if ever read a newspaper, while 16 percent of respondents aged 18-30 said they read the news daily. Meanwhile, 35 percent of people over 30 years of age claimed to read the news every day.
That same study found 61 percent of teens turned toward local or national TV broadcasts to get a portion or all of their news, while just nine percent reported opening a newspaper every day.
Comprehensive Online Coverage
But the tide could be turning, thanks to papers adapting to a more tech-savvy crowd. Most major publications offer video or other multimedia packages that coincide with stories in print, while upstart ventures like South Carolina's BlufftonToday.com are proving Internet-generated content can effectively translate to paper.
While most media minds don't think newspapers will ever regain the foothold they once had around breakfast tables, their Internet presence has continued an upward swing that bodes well for their future, one industry analyst says.
An Electronic Future
"Newspapers continue to successfully transform themselves into multimedia companies, offering unparalleled content that reaches an audience growing in both size and sophistication," Newspaper Association of America President and CEO John F. Sturm said in January 2008. "As our industry's transition accelerates, it is clear consumers recognize newspapers as their trusted source of information in an increasingly digital environment."
In fact, the NAA reported, online newspaper viewership grew by more than 3.6 million in 2007, and 39 percent of all Internet users visited a newspaper Web site during the fourth quarter of the year.
As always, newspapers are proving their value to society and continue to adapt to the changing needs of their audience.
A rack of newspaper stands
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