Print Journalism : An Alternative Business Model

Clay Shirky who wrote Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable (1993) argues that society doesn’t need newspapers society needs journalism to save society. Shirky supports this argument by giving a historical background to the problems newspapers face and how the problems have developed over time and the solutions society has came up with. The blogger concludes that in order for journalism to go farther new models must be created in place of past molds. Shirky directs this blog toward the current and future generations in attempt to motivate new models and methods of journalism.

Now, with the advent of the internet greatly transforming the information-gathering sector, the newspaper industry is fighting a tough battle for profitability.

As “journalism is built on credibility,” (Cassidy, 2007, p. 478) one of the main comparisons between print and online is the ability that online media provides for following up sources. Cassidy states that “online journalists …. Make allowances for interactivity, and asses ways of connecting related stories to each other via hyperlinks,” (Cassidy, 2007, p. 482) which can be shown in the Guardian as stories related to the article can be seen hyperlinked to the left. Similarly by using the Guardian’s online archive, the reader is able to search for previous articles on the subject, as well as look up the credibility alongside the article. As the Australian is print, the only way to be able to see previous editions and articles would be to find a collection of the papers. Similarly, the availability of linking similar texts is constrained to only the stories already mentioned in the current edition, meaning that if the reader is interested in finding out more on the topic they will have to find another source. The format of each differs significantly, as the Guardian has each article linked from a quote and sometimes a picture, and despite the Australian having continued stories on later pages, the format is constrained to small text boxes. Having articles online allows for large amounts of space and easy to read text along with a colourful format to

The purpose of this report is to analyse journalism practices employed in newspaper reporting across different outlets and to analyse if the practice was in line with the media

Jerkiewicz, who worked in the newspaper business for 15 years, said the subscriptions have fallen drastically. In 1995 the newspaper has about 24,000 copies in circulation, but in 2010, only has 9,000 copies in circulation. The readers however, had not quit reading the news, but had turned to online sources. He adds that magazines and newspapers should have a strong digital marketing plan. He thinks that traditional printing will continue to decline, but will never die out. There will still be a market, but it will just be smaller than it is now. He says that Kindle had not run print books out of business, and it never will. He adds that printing is so cheap now that printers are going out of business because falling subscription levels are leading to

In the wave of information explosion appeared in 90’ last century, the channels to obtain information among people have apparently been diversified due to the rise of new media outlets through the medium of the Internet. Although some advantage of newspaper has been overshadowed by the excellent performance of new media, newspaper is actively adapting to social and economic transformation based on maintaining its existing advantages. For this reason, the essay will describe newspapers’ prospects and explore whether newspaper have been outdated in the globalised era.

USA Today is a well-known newspaper company who dominates print news in the United States. Currently reaching nearly three million readers, USA Today has climbed their way to the top by evaluating and consistently re-evaluating their strategies to maintain and grow their consumer base, which consists of businessmen, professionals, and politicians (About USA Today). One of their greatest strengths is the wide range of their distribution. USA Today distributes newspapers in all fifty of the United States as well as parts of Canada and the United Kingdom (About USA Today). Their content is styled in an easy to read and understand way, making it more desirable to their readership versus other competitors’ newspapers. The company has established a well-recognized design for their newspaper, making it stand out among its competitors. USA Today is a “go-to” choice for consumers who daily read the newspaper.

Problem Statement: The advent of internet brought about both challenges and opportunities for the newspaper industry. On one hand, it required redesigning a new product suited for online customers and on the other it was an opportunity to reach to 123 million potential customers in this category. Thus to keep up with the pace of emerging digitization in every field, like all newspapers, New York Times also added online reading in their product portfolio. However it only worsened the crisis the newspaper was already going through. The operating profit declined by more than 76% from 234Mn$ in 2010 to a mere 57Mn$ in 2011. The circulations were steadily declining and the new online advertising could not compensate for print advertising

This paper aims to answer the question “How can Fairfax continue to grow its news revenue in the digital age?”

The newspaper industry is undergoing a radical change in three primary areas caused by technology. First, the underlying two-sided business model is changing. With the Advent of internet, news content is easily and freely available from various sources but lacks quality journalism and credibility. Revenues from online advertising are not large enough to compensate for decline in revenues from print advertising & subscription. Newspaper industry is experiencing new realm of new content delivery and in process of understanding and establishing sustainable sources and

With the decreasing market, the profitability of newspaper industry is declining. Newspaper revenues came from two sources: advertising and circulation representing approximately 80% and 20% of revenue, respectively. But between 2000 and 2010, annual

Over the last ten years there has been a significant reduction in the total number of newspaper copies circulated in the United States. The total number of newspaper copies circulated, both daily and Sunday in 2000 was 115,194,000. By 2008 this number had dipped significantly to 97,712,000. By the end of 2010 the total number of copies circulated was 43.4 million. Simultaneously, advertising revenues have also steadily declined over the years. Advertising revenues have dipped from $48,670 billion in 2000 to $24,821 billion in 2009. 2010 was relatively calm compared to the hair-raising dips in revenue of 2008 and 2009. Advertising revenues for 2010 dropped roughly 6.3 percent, to $22.8 billion. That was relatively low compared to the 26 percent drop in 2009. With the losses of the three previous years newspaper advertising is down roughly 48 percent, nearly half of what is was five years ago. Expenses continue to climb, especially for news print, where the price is running 20 to 30 percent higher than it was a year ago. Earlier rounds of staff cuts and savings from outsourcing have cycled

Today, Newspapers are at the lowest circulation in seven decades. Numbers do not lie, newspapers are in decline. According to a The Washington Post article from October of 2009, "The Accelerating Decline of Newspapers", only 13 percent of Americans today buy one of 1400 daily papers. In 1940 that number was 31 percent Newspapers' annual losses of paid daily subscriptions are at record lows all across the board. From the same article of the Washington Post: New York Times reported seven percent loss, Los Angeles Times reported 11 percent, Washington Post 6 percent, San Francisco Chronicles 26 percent, Dallas Morning News and Newark Star Ledger both report 22 percent losses. Of the 25 top newspapers in the United States, only the Wall Street Journal did not report a decline in circulation. The Wall Street Journal only managed a 0.6 percent gain. Furthermore, the rate of decline in print circulation at the nation's newspapers has accelerated. Between 2008 and 2009 there was a seven percent drop. Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at

Newspaper Owner 1 is a “diversified media company that generates most of its revenues through newspapers sold around the country and around the world” (pg. 122). Competition for subscribers and advertising revenues

The belief that journalism is in decline has triggered major alarms, because society needs an informational environment that is easily available to all citizens such as newspapers. There is a large body of journalist that suggests that if television has taken over from the press as our main source of news this may limit our capacity to learn about public affairs; newspapers are believed to be far more effective than television at conveying detailed information necessary to understand complex and detailed issues. There is also widespread concern that if journalism fails as a profession it will not be able to reach large sections of the community, particularly younger or less educated readers. This may reinforce a growing gap among citizens between the information that they receive.