The document discusses the decline of newspapers due to falling readership and circulation numbers as readers increasingly get their news from online sources. It provides statistics showing drops in newspaper penetration rates and circulation over time as the population has grown. While some smaller community newspapers are doing better relatively, most newspapers are struggling financially and have implemented layoffs and pay cuts as advertising revenues decline sharply. The future of the newspaper industry is unclear as it works to adapt to the digital age.
2. A New Problem? “ The (traditional) mass media are actually shrinking in size relative to the total economy.” Richard Maisel, “ The Decline of Mass Media,” Public Opinion Quarterly, 1973!
3. Journalism Quarterly Autumn 1974 “ Marketing Myopia” appears to threaten newspapers with de- creasing share of economic support in “post-industrial society.”
8. The Result? Though circulation has fallen back to pre-Baby Boom levels, the population has more than doubled since 1946. If you divide circulation by population, you will find that fewer than 18 out of 100 Americans today buy a daily or Sunday newspaper. Back in 1946, 36% of the population bought a daily paper and 31% took a Sunday edition. Population growth and newspaper circulation are going in opposite directions. From Reflections of a Newsosaur , April 29, 2008
11. Pew Research, Dec. 28, 2008 “ Where do you get most of your national and international news?”
12. “ I value the opportunity to get news using Internet/wireless technology" May 05, 2006, Posted by Ben Compaine http://rebuildingmedia.corante.com/
14. Why is this happening? “ Readers simply have access to a great many news outlets that didn’t exist 20 years ago, including the online sites of newspapers themselves.” - Emarketer.com
15. What Lies Ahead? “ I really don’t know whether we’ll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don’t care either. The Internet is a wonderful place to be, and we’re leading there.” New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Feb.2007 - Emarketer.com
22. “ Two years ago search engines were not viewed as much of a threat, (but) over the past year newspapers have recognized their effect.” John Strum, Newspaper Association of America The trend continues . . .
23. As I was saying . . . “ If the newspaper is to survive in the decades ahead, it must do so on the basis of offering the consumer a product which fulfills the needs of the consumer.” Me, Journalism Quarterly, 1974
24. “ It must begin to react intelligently and quickly to the changing economic and social environment of which it is a part.” Me again, Journalism Quarterly, 1974
29. “ For the third consecutive year, daily and Sunday circulation of America’s newspapers fell sharply in 2006. “ The losses may moderate in 2007, but few in the industry are now saying the downward trend can be reversed in the foreseeable future. And 2006 in the end was worse that many had expected.” - The State of the News Media 2007,” The Project for Excellence in Journalism
30. Facing plummeting print circulation and an extremely challenging economy, the newspaper industry is clearly in crisis. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, American newspapers have seen a steady decline in print circulation over the last fourteen years. This trend directly correlates with the rise of the Internet as a news source. Indeed, in October of 2008 The Christian Science Monitor announced that it would be the first major newspaper to stop its daily print edition and exist only online. Today’s newspapers are in a situation where they must embrace new technologies in order to stay relevant and survive. The Bivins Group, Dec. 2008
31. Already in 2009. . . “ The bad news for the newspaper industry keeps piling up: • The Rocky Mountain News has closed. • The Tribune Company, owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune , bankrupt • The New York Times Company forced to enter into a $250 million "private financing agreement" with a Mexican telecom magnate. • The Detroit News home delivery cut to three days a week. • The Los Angeles Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer are mere shadows of themselves. • The Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale, may close. • The Denver Post negotiating wage concessions , furloughs with its newsroom employees. And before the end of 2009, there is a good chance there will be at least one major American city without a daily newspaper. “ Denver Post , Feb. 15, 2009
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36. Finally . . . Belden Associates shutting down Jan. 14, 2009 Belden Associates, a research company that’s served the newspaper industry for 68 years, has formally announced it’s closing. With the industry in such a rapid period of change, you’d think audience and readership research would be more important than ever. But fewer companies than in years gone by are willing to pay for it. “ See if this doesn’t resonate: Our cost structure and many of our products and services were no longer in alignment with evolving customer needs.”
37. The only thing increasing in the newspaper industry is the number of newsroom layoffs!
39. But Wait . . . That’s the big dailies. Community newspapers are doing just fine! Aren’t we?
40. “ After technically defaulting on its debt and being de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange last year, the Journal Register Co. said it was putting scores of small-town weekly newspapers up for sale--but would be forced to close them if no buyers came forward. “ The threat has become a reality over the last two months, with closures accelerating in recent weeks. Wednesday, February 11, 2009
41. Community papers struggling: Vail Daily cuts staff to 2002 levels On the day Denver lost one of its major metro newspapers, the Rocky Mountain News, there are signs that even small-town community newspapers in Colorado — once believed to be relatively bulletproof — are starting to struggle. Colorado Independent, March 1, 2009
42. March 2, 2009 Budget woes hit city's smaller papers, too A sign that newspapers' troubles extend beyond dailies was in the envelope Pacific Publishing publisher Mike Dillon dropped on Erik Hansen's desk two Fridays ago. "He said, 'I'm sorry, Erik' and walked off," Hansen said. No other explanation was necessary. Dillon had told the staff the day before that layoffs were coming. Hansen, who edited and did much of the reporting for two neighborhood papers, the South Seattle Beacon and the Madison Park, and the more widely distributed City Living, was let go. Capitol Hill Times editor Doug Schwartz and four salespeople also lost their jobs. Seattle Post Intelligencer
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46. COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS REPORT 4TH QUARTER RESULTS; CONTINUE TO OUTPERFORM INDUSTRY All newspaper industry news is not bad March 04, 2009 | 11:52 AM Community newspapers were impacted by the challenging economy but in a much smaller way than the industry in general , according to fourth quarter 2008 financial data collected by the trade associations Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA) and National Newspaper Association (NNA). The SNA/NNA fourth quarter financial reporting group reports total advertising revenue at $428.7 million, a 6.6% decline from the same quarter in 2007. As a point of comparison, Glennco Consulting Group estimates an overall industry decline in fourth quarter advertising expenditures of 21% and many large companies have reported declines in excess of 20%.
47. Community Newspapers Alive and (Fairly) Well Columns | March 4, 2009 By Art Hall I have just returned from national newspaper conferences which I attend annually; this year one was in Texas and the other in Florida. While there were a few metro dailies present, the majority were community papers. And while all newspapers are struggling currently because their advertisers have less money to spend, unlike the regional and metro dailies, the community newspapers aren’t threatened with bankruptcy.
48. In response to a request, TPA members sent us more than a dozen web sites that already have been launched to compete with local newspapers in Texas. Here’s what one person said: “ We haven't really had any loss of revenue (that we can tell), but they do have a few people who are loyal and will give them information and not us. “ It has been a pain, but we try to continue to run our business the way we always have. ”
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51. Or . . . “ It has been a pain, but we try to continue to run our business the way we always have.”
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54. People will never spend hundreds of dollars for electronic, digital readers. Oh? Think about this: Estimated annual cost to print The New York Times $644,000,000 Loyal readers 830,000 Kindle II X $359 Total $297,870,000 Savings: $346,130,000 Printing The NYT Costs Twice As Much As Sending Every Subscriber A Free Kindle Nicholas Carlson | January 30, 2009 4:35 PM
56. Amazon Can't Meet Demand for Kindle (March 2008) Yesterday Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos posted a letter to customers apologizing for not being able to fulfill demand for the company's e-book reader Kindle. The Kindle enables readers to upload books, newspapers and favorite blogs for mobile perusal. When the Kindle launched in November the first batch sold out in just 5 and a half hours, according to Bezos. Since then orders have been queued, pending availability. The reader is now offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Some customers must wait as long as six weeks after ordering. Amazon committed to boosting production in the coming weeks. Its ultimate goal is to ship a Kindle out the same day it is ordered.