Friday, December 12, 2008

More Newpaper Tinkering With Online Services

As print media weaken, their online efforts increase, as this fresh example about The Wall Street Journal shows.

At some point, newspapers will figure out how their online operations can generate advertising and other revenue streams, but the dollars won't support hard-copy dailies as we have come to know them.

Seems as if the Detroit papers could cut home delivery to a few days a week - - not there's a way to make sure subscribers seek out the paper online.

After cancelling their subs.

So look for fewer dailies - - the recession will spur that development - - and certainly a reduced number of magazines, too, but also plenty of news online, in blogs and even on radio and television.

Update: Electronic advances are beginning to shrink TV bews crews, too.

Just like the internet has made every blogger a 'journalistm' YouTube now makes every person with a computer into a video 'reporter.'

And so it goes.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Should not the news come from the people vs "the Media"?
If the internent gives all us us (such as this blog here) the chance to tell our story I got no issues with that.
Now elites both on the Right and left do information is power, must keep that out of the sheeple's hands

James Rowen said...

Many blogs provide opinion only, and that is not news. Most news organizations fact-check in ways that most bloggers never and cannot do.

Same w/ talk radio. Opinion and interpretation, yes. News? Usually not.

Wayne Clingman said...

Ah the J-S fact check? Or the Racine Journal Times fact check?
I think one of the reasons that both newspapers are in the tank is that the public is tired of both being one huge editorial.

James Rowen said...

To Green Racine; You might want to give a little more study to the way that newspapers actually work.

Wayne Clingman said...

They work to return on investment. They do this by being something that folks want to pick up and read or trust that by advertising in the paper readers will see the ads and buy, apply for jobs do whatever.
When readers quit reading advertisers quit taking out ads newspapers fold.
When say The Racine Journal Times goes into the Tank for say KRM and the readers know they have other choices to get their information, readership goes away followed by advertisers by by. The owners of The J-T stock was $43 not long ago today closed at under .50.
There are what 10 blogs in the Racine area they cover far more subjects then The Racine paper.

The Milwaukee newspaper is finding the same thing to be true. The Wing nuts who like an increase in taxes but live outside the effected area, or back real crooks like Mc Gee for the longest time are helping subscribers know that there are other options. How many subscribe now vs 5 years ago? 10 years?

Newspapers who spend more ink editorializing then reporting the news are dead or dying.

Web 2.0 is letting people not elites find report and read the news they chose to.

James Rowen said...

The decline of newspapers began with TV. The Internet and recession are having their impacts, too.

Many newspapers will survive in online/print hybrid fashion, as will magazines.

It's not a right-left thing.

Anonymous said...

See an example of community reporting
http://www.reason.org/ps372.pdf this information about KRM would likely see
light of day in The Racine Journal Time or the Milwaukee Paper since it's anti KRM. The elites can not afford the sheeple to know the facts.