Re: How to Save the Newspapers

I'm never upset by reasoned thought or alternate opinions, Joseph.[grin]

And I do agree that there is a core of good reporters and editors that provide a service. Unfortunately, the trend towards making previously free online news a paid subscription is a suicide call for the industry. They will never see the revenues they once enjoyed. IMNSHO

What will happen with most folks, is that you will get a few hundred thousand amateur bloggers who will get the idea of turning semi-pro. They will only earn a little with junk ads and selling a few special-interest publications. Since there will not be as much editing and it will be a much narrower viewpoint, the overall quality of news will suffer. Perhaps some of them will form conglomerates to showcase multiple viewpoints and pool their intelligence resources. But they will be operating on a much smaller economic base.

There is going to continue to be a shaking up in all the media industries and how it actually will turn out may surprise us all.

Just as a side note: I for one, average one or two Sunday edition newspapers each year and that is only when I'm really bored and have some spare change in my pocket. A half hour later, I generally feel as if it was a waste. 

And before you think me one of the young, ADHD 'net' generation that doesn't read much, I'm over 60, and a published author. I regularly consume at least one novel a week and read more than a dozen blogs (with varying viewponts) every day. 

Stan



"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:

 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."

-Ed Howdershelt

--- On Wed, 8/12/09, joseph harris <[email protected]> wrote:

From: joseph harris <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [ebook-community] How to Save the Newspapers
To: [email protected]
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 5:22 PM






 




    
                  From: "Stan" 

> Here's an interesting little OpEd piece.

> 

> http://tech. yahoo.com/ news/zd/20090811 /tc_zd/243073

> 

> Cheers!

> 

> Stan



I hope I do not unpset you, Stan, if I class the article a piece of junk opinion. I have worked in many types of media, and I also have some financial and business background.



The first thing to understand is that there isn't one mass called newspaper publishing. There are many different forms, formats, audiences and business models. So the experience of the wrtiter of the article is valid - for his experience.



The idea that serious professional newsgathering is a simple little 'have laptop, will travel' operation shows no knowledge at all of big newspapers which, let me emphasize, are the backbone of effective reporting and news gathering [tv does not have that strength in news]. Newspapers have a lot of shrinking to do, that's true. So has everything else! 



But there is much further for newspapers to go before they are likely to reach a condition that is no longer viable. There has been around 60 years of almost unchecked expansion. Now the contraction has arrived; just another stage in revising business models. But also a challenge to the gannets that thought they could suck the last penny out of publishing in general.



Just to make one other point that underlines my criticism of the article. He chooses the Economist and Vogue to show how right thinking could have saved them all. But The Economist has for many decades been the prime resource for economic and political economic thinking. At his time it has even more appeal - and therefore is a magnet for advertising. Vogue serves the richer elements and the straiu in those circles has been much less.



It will certainly be interesting to see in ten and twenty years how the dust settles and what size the newspaper industry will be, and to what extent 'free' has been reduced. It is clear  the by the end of this year more than half the currently easily accessible newspaper material online will be on subscription bases.



Joseph Harris  -  Debt Control Man

author: Control Your Debt Crisis on Your Own Terms

blog: http://debtcontrolm an.wordpress. com

http://www.controly ourdebtcrisis. co.uk

debt dictionary: http://www.controly ourdebtcrisis. co.uk/debtwiki/


 

      

    
    
	
	 
	
	








	


	
	


      

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