The future of newspapers gets more thought
09/12/2006 | Posted by Nick Tatt in Latest thinking | Comments: (1)
We’ve commented on the future of newspapers before but more recently Time Magazine has been considering the same issue with thoughts from industry insiders.
On the whole most insiders believe that the newspapers do have a future and that the industry is in good shape to exploit the changing market place. John Kimball, chief marketing officer for the Newspaper Association of America believes:
“This is still an extremely healthy business, not a business facing imminent doom. 85% of adults in the U.S. are either reading a newspaper every week or visiting its site. In 30 years, the Web will be a much stronger component, but you will still see a powerful print product that people want to pick up and read. There will be advances in newspaper delivery: not just Web sites, but a printed product on a notebook of some kind that you could access electronically. I assure you that [newspapers] will still be around. It’s all about the audience, and that’s what newspapers are selling. When you look at newspaper companies as media organizations, not just printed products, you have an audience that’s growing, not shrinking.”
What strikes me is the 30 year forecast for the web becoming a stronger component! I’m sure newspapers like the Guardian would argue that the web is a strong if not stronger component of their business right now: not in 30 years. The Guardian is a great example of a newspaper that has embraced digital news. At this year’s AOP Online Publishing Conference Carolyn McCall, chief executive, Guardian Media was quite open about their approach to experimenting with online publishing in the early days. They have been doing it for a number of years now and are reaping the rewards for their efforts.
Tagged: Newspapers
those newspapers that have chosen to treat the web (and other digital channels) as an opportunity to deepen relationships with readers whilst expanding the reach of their branded quality content are beginning to reap the benefits.
those that continue to ignore the change in consumer media consumption and continue to treat digital as a threat are watching their commercial franchises shrink infront of their (and their shareholders) eyes.
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