The Reason Newspapers Are Going On The Web
November 29, 2009 by bruce · 10 Comments
Filed under: Print Media, geo domains, newspaper closings, newspapers closing
Filed under: Print Media, geo domains, newspaper closings, newspapers closing
OK, so The Reason Newspapers Are Going On The Web has been something landing people on my blog lately, several times actually, but the post they were landing on did not really outline the reasons so I thought I would do a quick 5 bullet point list of why. By no means is this the full list but here are several, feel free to add more in the comments section:
- Their customers are using the web, since the mid 90s people have had an option for where to get their news and this shift is happening faster than ever. The Internet is not just for the tech-savvy crowd and as people look to cut costs why pay for news when there are 1000 different options online for free.
- People do not want to wait until tomorrow, there is no need too. Newspapers have to print stories on physical paper and then deliver them, their deadlines are typically early in the morning that day which means that you are waiting at least a day before you get a news story to the doorstep. People are use to instant gratification these days. Real time news is here , no more need to wait and with Twitter and Facebook it is only getting worse for the legacy news industry.
- Based on the two reasons above it becomes about money, even though the newspapers, almost as a whole, have failed to find a way to be successful online it is where the money is. Online ad revenues, although weak and shrinking in some aspects, have been stronger than offline revenues during the downturn. The money is online, newspapers have to figure out how to work online. Most have not.
- The old model has a much higher cost then the new model, bandwidth and servers are cheap compared to printing newspapers and delivering them. The newspaper industry had to see this but kept holding on hoping it would not catch up with them. It has.
- People have more options now, when the only news sources were TV, Newspapers, and Radio there was not as much competition. You only had a few voices to choose from when it came to opinion or real news. Well with the Internet, love it or hate it, you have thousands, millions even. People want to find someone more like them. Community would be the word.
To my normal readers sorry for the repetitive post, I know I have hit on this before but I wanted to give people coming in from search something.
There are many thoughts on why the newspapers are dying as well. Feel free to give your opinion.
So true – and happening faster than they would like! Mobile devices also make it amazingly easy to read news in the same way people traditionally read papers. I know I use my iPhone while waiting in lines at airports, waiting for my plane, or even eating breakfast in the morning.
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and LA Times are all on the first screen in my iPhone – imagine having to subscribe to all three newspapers and read them all in one place.
On top of that the font size is bigger on the iPhone than on the newspaper itself so is an even better fit for an older audience!!
Bruce, i remember this conversation 10 yrs. ago – a evolution/revolution still ongoing :} thanks for great post on this
good reads and folks to follow if you don’t already http://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu one article of his
http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2009/03/26/flying_seminar.html
and of course http://twitter.com/poynter http://www.poynter.org/ – there right here in St. Petersburg, FL – by me – they are the non-profit that owns the St. Pete Times and http://TampaBay.com
most recent article that i’m tracking :}
@Morgan – Yep, cellphones are one I should of put on the list probably, I know I reach for my iPhone to read the news, very seldom do I not go straight to the iPhone (which btw is a post for another day that will be interesting…).
@Cate – I am going to go check that out now and follow. You would be surprised how many searches around newspapers closing I get.
actually I’m not surprised at all about how many searches you get around newspapers closing ! :} my journalist friends doing a LOT of searching on this topic :} one day I’ll have a conversation w you about how I approached a # of journalists years ago about a certain GEO domain name and it fell on deaf ears – who’s “searching now” – :}
@Cate – Knowing the name you are likely talking about that is funny. BTW, you get a mention in my post tomorrow for the great link in the comment you left here. That Rosen post is amazing with amazing info in each of the links in it.